


Diabolical Contest of Mutual Killing

by ReadingForever



Series: The World After the End [2]
Category: Dangan Ronpa, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Fangan Ronpa, Gen, Sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-10
Updated: 2016-10-07
Packaged: 2018-04-03 17:21:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 50
Words: 247,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4108885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReadingForever/pseuds/ReadingForever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to Graduate Meeting of Mutual Killing. </p><p>Sixteen commanders of Diavolos Avante are considered candidates to take part of the Main Board. What seemed to Mitsuhiko Hikari, ex-SHSL Hunter, a competition to decide which one would take the spot turned into a struggle to survive fueled by not only Monobear, but also by a strange new mechanical being. </p><p>Why are both of them pushing for deaths to happen? Is there really a conspiracy forming inside Diavolos Avante? What's going on with the Main Board?</p><p>Currently: Extras - Author's Comments</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Fifteen Commanders, a Girl and a Bear I

**Author's Note:**

> Good afternoon! So Diabolical Meeting of Mutual Killing is starting now!
> 
> ...four months after the month I said it'd start.
> 
> That was truly shameful.
> 
> Either way, this is a sequel to Graduate Meeting of Mutual Killing. If you haven't read that story then you may be a tad lost, as a lot of this story is relying on knowledge from that one, starting from the main character, who was hinted on that point, the setting and people this story focuses on, and finally the very important and spoilery events that are the causes of all the events this sequel will have.
> 
> You may find that first part in my profile page, in the Stories section.
> 
> So, without further ado, let's start. Writing the very first chapter, the whole introduction of every character, continues being terribly difficult, but let's give this a go!

Mitsuhiko took a deep breath, inhaling the familiar polluted air while almost everybody entered the building.

It had been quite some time since he had been in the Diavolos Avante Headquarters, or as it was known to everybody else in the world: 'Delacroix, School for the Gifted and the Talented'. _Quite a tacky name. Tacky name, tacky leader. Why did I join them, again?_

-"You're making faces again, Mitsu-chan"- a female voice sounded behind him. A blonde woman put her arm over his shoulders.

-"I'm questioning my life choices"-

-"That's too bad. Stop pouting and remember what we're here for"- The blonde stood in front of Mitsuhiko and grabbed his face, making him look at her eyes -"Our objective: make sure one of us two gets into the Main Board. It's our chance, Mitsuhiko. I'm sick of the sight of Hyogo"-

Mitsuhiko nodded with determination. "I assure you that we'll triumph. That spot is as good as ours".

_I am Mitsuhiko Hikari, 25 years old. Codename: Cerberus._

_I was known once as the Super High School Level Hunter, but I have left that behind. Now I'm the Hunting Demon, Commander of the Kyoto Division of Diavolos Avante._

_My role in this organization is to perform assassinations on persons of interest. That's how I got into my actual position, thanks to my performance in that field._

Mitsuhiko made sure he still had his gun with him. No respectable hunter would ever be seen without a weapon, that's what he believed. After making sure it was loaded, he nodded towards the woman. "Let's go in".

_She is Yurie Oyama, 23 years old. Codename: Zagan. The Hacking Demon. She's the Commander for the Prefecture of Hyogo. She's a hacker, known for her abilities on cybernetic attacks and information collecting in technological contexts._

_Yurie is my fianceé and the person I have chosen to be the rest of my life with._

Mitsuhiko looked warily at the tall steel fence that surrounded the gardens. There was something unnerving on the sheer height of the fence. Sure, Mitsuhiko did know it was made for the protection of the members of the Headquarters, but it still resembled a prison in a way. Impossible to climb, impossible to break and once the gates closed, impossible to force open.

-"Stop looking at that and come in!" Yurie shouted from the entrance to the Headquarters. Mitsuhiko rolled his eyes, used to Yurie's usual pushy behavior. Once the hunter got to the entrance Yurie stopped him for a last tip. "Mitsu-chan, remember the attack plan. We need to assert our dominance, make everybody know that we're superior to everybody else in all senses"-

-"Act all mighty and crush everybody under my heel. Got it"-

Yurie smiled, satisfied. -"Then let's go in"-

The headquarters were always a sensitive terrain for him. There was something sinister in those gray halls, the lockers lining the walls and in the dim illumination. It was as if Veritas' objective was to unnerve anybody who entered the building, and in that sense, it worked. Yurie seemed indifferent to the oppressive atmosphere. She had once commented the school hadn't changed at all since her school days, so the hunter always supposed she was used to it.

-"I hate this place"-

-"You'll be seeing it every day if you win"- Yurie said. Mitsuhiko looked around with waning interest.

-"I insist you'll be a better fit for the job than me. Being in the Main Board is risky and you're much tougher than me, I'll be satisfied with staying in Kyoto"-

Yurie pointed towards the Meeting Room, where the different Commanders of the forces Diavolos Avante had in Japan often gathered every month. It was only logical that if there was a place the candidates would be reunited it would be in there. "Amazing. It's dangerous, the hunter said. You're tougher than me, said the one who is known in DeeEy for killing people. Are you ready?" Everybody called the organization 'DeeEy', being less of a mouthful than the real name. Besides, it helped with secrecy. Yurie put her hand on the handles of the door, ready to make their entrance. Mitsuhiko nodded, sharing her determination.

-"Heads will roll"-

Satisfied, Yurie pushed the doors open; making them hit the walls with a very loud sound. The rest of the candidates inside turned their heads towards the two newly-arrived with more annoyance than admiration. Mitsuhiko internally cringed; he was more used to being with less people than these. His job often involved being unseen and old habits were hard to break.

Yurie was more comfortable, smiling broadly. She was the one to take the initiative. -"That's right! Contemplate us, because we're going to be the ones to defeat all of you!"-

-"We don't even know yet what we have to do"-A bearded middle-aged man said bluntly. Yurie ignored him, instead pulling the chairs for Mitsuhiko and her to seat. Feeling Yurie would want him to speak; he attempted to seem as intimidating as he could.

-"There's no need for that. Before the day ends Valkyrie will have chosen me to take Volkos' place"-

-"We were just talking about that!"- A gal with curly hair piped up –"Isn't it strange how we never heard what happened to Volkos? All we were told was that he had betrayed DeeEy but that's it. Nothing else"-

-"Obviously it isn't our place to know the details of his betrayal"- A woman with a ceremony dress added with a calming voice. Mitsuhiko hid his surprise at seeing her. He knew her!

-"We should make a promise: the one who wins tells the others what happened to Volkos. Deal?" a lanky young man proposed, receiving lukewarm acceptation –"It's the least we can do. We're partners, after all! Let's keep Diavolos Avante's unity and strength"-

-"Yeah, no. Friendship and unity is not in our best interests. All of you remember this: we're going to do everything in our power to crush you all into oblivion"- Yurie said dramatically, grabbing Mitsuhiko's hand. The hunter lifted his chin and gave his best look of arrogance. All the candidates reacted as expected, with automatic dislike towards him and Yurie.

Step one of the plan they had arranged was done: keep everybody away of them. That'd give Yurie and him space to scheme and discuss the weaknesses they could find in their competitors. _We don't need to be friendly with everybody else. As long as we have each other we'll triumph._

Step two was kind of harder: to actually find the weaknesses the candidates had. That was going to be slightly harder now that they had turned everybody else against him, but he was confident he'd manage to get onto the important information without anybody else noticed. I didn't get to where I am by luck. It's thanks to my abilities. This'll be a piece of cake.

He already had heard about most of the candidates, as it was natural from somebody of Mitsuhiko's position. There was only one he had never heard before. Looking at each candidate he recalled everything he knew about them. It wasn't much but it was a start.

The person directly to his right was a man dressed with what seemed to be an armor of sorts. Part of it was metallic while the rest seemed more like rubber. The only part of his body that seemed to not to have any protection was his neck; even his hair had a strange metallic band, forming a ponytail.

_Mamoru Takayama, 28 years old, the Protective Demon. Codename: Caassimolar, Commander of the Prefecture of Nagasaki. Bodyguard extraordinaire, it's said he has even guarded people from the Main Board in especially risky situations. Usually his job is to arrange the protection of people and buildings._

-"Do you need anything?"- he said once he realized he was being stared at.

-"What's up with...you know, the armor?"-

-"It's my responsibility to protect people. If I can't stay alive then my charges can't either"-

-"You look as if you expect an attack at any time. Paranoid much?"-

Takayama gritted his teeth but responded cordially. –"You have no idea of what I have lived through. Have you ever been attacked by SHSL Despair rioters?"-

-"A couple times, yes"- with some luck Takayama would tell a situation with great detail. Based on that Mitsuhiko planned to see if there were any weaknesses in his technique. Some attacks to the professional self-esteem the bodyguard had could be a good start.

-"I was attacked to seven different spots of my body. If it hadn't been for this armor I would have died and Vieiras would have been murdered. Do you understand?"- Takayama pinched some of the rubber, showing how elastic it was –"This is my mark of excellence, an armor of my own invention. Absolutely. Flawless"-

Mitsuhiko didn't seem very impressed. Takayama had a very dramatic voice, as if he were exerting himself in order to convince people of his efficiency. –"I'll judge that if I ever see it happening"-

Takayama didn't reply, instead choosing to narrow his eyes and ignore Mitsuhiko. The hunter tried to rile the bodyguard up a couple times more, but as if he had seen through his plans Takayama didn't say another word.

Later in hindsight Mitsuhiko would realize it had been an idiotic move. Everybody had seen him talking with different people, they all knew what to expect from him.

Once it was clear Takayama wouldn't take the bait and provide him with more information, Mitsuhiko stood up from his seat to walk to the man to the side of Takayama. Once he got close enough to see him better he regretted standing up.

He was the creepiest person he had ever met in his life. The man was dressed on what seemed to be a kid's usual clothing: a vest, a plaid shirt and shorts. His big eyes and cheery smile didn't help to diminish the effect either. –"Hey there!"- he exclaimed, making his smile bigger. Mitsuhiko shuddered violently, stepping back.

_Akira Hosoya, 24 years old. Codename: Asmodeus. Commander of the Prefecture of Aomori and the Con Artist Demon. It's said he can make people lower his guard and manage to make them do exactly what he wishes. How the hell does he do that when he looks like this?!_

_He's a specialist in dealing with SHSL Despair rioters and Future Foundation agents, able to get information from even the most despairing and devoted follower of Enoshima._

-"I-I was just passing"- Mitsuhiko said quickly, moving towards the next person, but Hosoya moved his chair back, blocking his way.

-"I thought you'd want to talk to me"-

-"You thought wrong"—Mitsuhiko grabbed the chair with as much strength as possible and pushed him against the table. Hosoya got the air knocked out of him, but it didn't make his smile leave his face. Feeling more scared every second he looked at the unnaturally weird man Mitsuhiko practically ran towards the only recognizable person there was besides his fianceé.

-"Hikaru-kun!"- she greeted. Mitsuhiko ignored the mispronunciation of his name while the woman with the ceremony dress stood up and gave him a doubtful hug. Mitsuhiko could feel Yurie's eyes boring into his back but ignored it the best he could, focusing on the beautiful woman who was hugging him. –"Has been so long since we hanged out together. Why don't you move back to Saitama?"-

_Kimiko Sugita, 26 years old. The Tea Demon, codename: Seir. Commander of the Prefecture of Saitama. She's pretty much in charge of keeping the morale high in the whole Japan, and she often uses her knowledge on ceremonies and teas to diminish stress and hostility levels._

_Also my childhood friend, who I stopped seeing often since I moved to Kyoto. From time to time we stay in contact but Yurie hates when we talk._

-"I can't, my people needs me. Besides Yurie and I are going to marry in a few months"- Mitsuhiko said proudly, showing his ring. Sugita put her best surprised face, Mitsuhiko usually reminded her of the future marriage every time they talked.

-"Once again congratulations! Am I still banned from going to the ceremony..."-

-"You are. Let me deal with it, okay?"- Mitsuhiko looked at Yurie, who was visibly outraged –"I should walk away now before she makes a scene"- the hunter said. Sugita sighed, still not understanding why Yurie hated her so much. After exchanging a few more words Mitsuhiko got to the next person in the table.

The lady doing her best to ignore Mitsuhiko had several long strands of pearls intertwined with her hair and on her arms. Mitsuhiko stood to her side until with a huff she turned around slowly. Her movements were fluid and slow, as if she were thinking the exact position her body should be at every second. –"May you please go away? I don't wish to have you near me"- she said with her crystalline voice.

-"I wanted to say hello"-

-"Say it and then please leave me alone"-

_This is Harumi Kayano, 29 years old. Codename: Marax. The Dancing Demon and Commander of the Prefecture of Mie. She has learned dozens of dances, ballet being her specialty. She often takes part of tasks that involve great amounts of stamina and resistance, despite her less-than-stellar strength._

Kayano continued ignoring him, until Mitsuhiko gave up. The man next to Kayano was clearly the oldest one in the room. He seemed quite professional and seemed like he could be calmed in no matter what situation. He was the one who initiated the short conversation as soon as Mitsuhiko got to his side. –"Are you trying to find something in special talking to all of us?"-

-"It's just my way of knowing the people I have to compete with"- Mitsuhiko said as innocently as possible.

-"That could work if it weren't because your girlfriend and you made your intentions clear. Still, my oath forces me to offer you my services"-

-"Just as expected"- Mitsuhiko said plainly, going behind the man's chair.

-"The Clinic is just around the corner of the hall. You'll find me there anytime"-

_Tetsurou Koshimizu, 44 years old. Codename: Andromalius. The Medical Demon and Commander of the Prefecture of Fukuoka. Just like Kimiko-san, he's in charge of our health in whole Japan if there are any grave situations that needs his help._

Mitsuhiko nodded, acknowledging the offer. The woman to his side tried to shake Mitsuhiko's hand. –"I'm not sure if you'll ever need my help, but you can talk to me anytime. I'll be your resident psychologist, therapist and psychiatrist"-

-"Yasumoto-san, right?"-

-"That's correct!"-

_Chiyo Yasumoto, 25 years old. Codename: Belial. The Mind Demon and Commander of the Prefecture of Tokushima. Her subordinates in Tokushima are known for being the most coordinated and stable forces in the whole country and are often ambassadors between the forces in Japan and the forces in Europe and other parts of Asia._

-"I'm in no need of a psychiatrist, thank you"- Mitsuhiko said.

-"Oh what a shame. At least with my help you'd be able to get into everybody's good graces. You didn't make the best initial impression, after all"-

-"I don't need any help. In case you didn't catch on, I don't need a good initial impression"- Mitsuhiko said bluntly. Yasumoto smiled enigmatically but didn't reply, instead pointing towards the next commander to meet.

-"Show the world how charming you are, starting there"-

-"As if"- the other commander said. –"I already saw enough of him when those two made their speech earlier"-

Mitsuhiko nodded. –"I approve not wasting time! See you"-

-"She is Sumida Kishio-san"- Yasumoto explained –"If you can't get on her good side don't expect to have an easy time here"-

-"She is THE Sumida Kishio?!"- Mitsuhiko dropped the aloof attitude he was trying to create –"I-I'm sorry for everything, Kishio-sensei. I didn't mean to offend you"-

_Sumida Kishio, 28 years old. Codename: Alocas. Linguist Demon and highest ranked Commander in Japan, although she doesn't lead any team. Thanks to her ability to speak several languages she's in charge of gathering reports from Diavolos Avante forces in other countries and then inform the Main Board about it._

_There was something known in DeeEy: Piss off Sumida Kishio and she'll make your life impossible. Get her to like you and you'll get far._

Kishio scowled. –"Too late. Let me make clear something, _neno idiota_ : interfere with the relative peace Yasumoto we'll try to create and you'll regret ever entering this building. Did I make myself clear"-

Mitsuhiko knew he was acting very undignified and most likely ruining the impression he had wanted to give, but Kishio's expression made clear she was completely serious of what she was saying. Mitsuhiko lowered his eyes and in the most docile voice he had ever produced he said: -"I'm deeply sorry"-

Kishio stared blankly at him before pointing with his thumb at the guy next to her. Taking it as his cue to go away, Mitsuhiko got to the commander he had been pointed to. Behind him Yasumoto could barely contain her grin and continued talking to Kishio.

Trying to leave that weak moment behind him, Mitsuhiko repressed his frustration at best as he could. That didn't stop him of being harsh on the commander, as he was somebody he had never seen or heard about before. –"And who the hell are you?"-

-"Um"- the new Commander moved awkwardly –"I'm Kouhei Kobayashi and I was, um, recently named the new commander for the Prefecture of Nagano"-

-"And how do you plan to get the spot in the Main Board, newbie?"-

-"Well, I'm a pretty good illusionist"- he replied with a hint of pride. Mitsuhiko snorted, enjoying how he was making the new guy all nervous.

-"Illusions? Really? Just who are you, again?"-

-"Kouhei Kobayashi, Magical Demon. My codename is...is..."- Kobayashi trailed off, muttering to himself. Feeling there was something juicy to exploit, Mitsuhiko pressured him.

-"Oh, your name tells me nothing! What's your codename? Come on, tell me what is it and maybe you'll earn some respect!"-

Kobayashi lowered his voice, Mitsuhiko barely could hear it. –"Amy...my codename is Amy..."- at that point Mitsuhiko lost it. He knew enough about the occidental culture to know about the name.

-"Amy? Your demon name, handpicked for you, the name that will define you to everybody else in the organization...is Amy?"- That was followed of more ungentlemanly guffaws. Kobayashi looked away, slightly blushing.

-"I don't think it's that bad"-

-"Whatever, Amy. See you"- Mitsuhiko's mood had improved. He knew he had acted like an asshole to Kobayashi just out of spite towards Kishio, but that didn't sour his newly found attitude.

The next person to try to officially meet was somebody Mitsuhiko mildly despised. The man had listened with attention to how Mitsuhiko treated Kobayashi, amused. –"That was uncalled for, right?"- the man said.

-"What if it was? I'm not going to have any compassion towards the people I'll compete with"-

-"That's too bad. You don't even know what kind of activity we'll have to do in order to obtain the spot in the Main Board. What if it is something that needs the cooperation of somebody else? You have guaranteed more than half of us to not to want anything with you"-

-"Cooperation? It's a single spot! Cooperation won't have any place in here"-

That was why he despised that man. In all situations he felt the need to act as if he had the higher moral ground although everybody known he was a complete hypocrite, that's what he was known for. He could do something and nag somebody else about not doing it without the slightest amount of shame. Surely he'd see situations like those during their competition.

_Daisuke Mitsuishi, 27 years old. Codename: Leviathan. The Flying Demon and Commander of the Prefecture of Chiba. He has been marked as the worst commander of the country. His specialty is aerial scouting, although since Diavolos Avante managed to get teams in every country he has been left behind as less important than the rest._

-"Okay but don't say I didn't tell you, asshole"- he said, still amused. Mitsuishi hadn't done the slightest effort to talk to people or be likable and that's what got into Mitsuhiko's nerves. Most of the commanders had at least tried to keep an amicable face towards everybody, but Mitsuishi, Mitsuhiko and Oyama were already shaping up to be unpopular.

Trying to keep the distance between Mitsuishi and himself, Mitsuhiko hounded towards the next person to talk with. He hadn't noticed before, but the new commander was wearing a mask everybody in the room knew well: a Monobear mask. Trying to not to show it bothered him to see a symbol of what they were supposed to fight he waved towards the man in the mask. –"Hey there"- he said once he noticed Mitsuhiko's greeting.

-"...what's up with the mask?"-

Muffled by the mask the man replied. –"It's part of my most recent character, the one I was working on when I got called here"-

-"...you were in middle of getting into the ranks of SHSL Despair?"-

It was impossible to know what expression he had behind the mask, but the passion in his voice was as clear as day. –"They don't have ranks! Have you ever seen them? There's only one thing uniting them and it is causing as much despair and pain as possible to anybody, even between them. If I find the people who are giving them constant despair then maybe we'll be able to dispel SHSL Despair once and for all"-

_Kumakichi Fukuyama, 27 years old. Codename: Ose. The Acting Demon and the Commander of the Prefecture of Yamagata. An expert in infiltration and intelligence, able to have a different character for any circumstances._

-"I'll be honest, I wouldn't mind if you end taking control of a large part of the world after that. Surely Veritas would admit our goals would be impossible without you"-

-"Isn't that why all of us joined DeeEy? To acquire power after we restore the world and kill SHSL Despair? I'll feel scammed if I don't have at least one country in my possession at the end of this all"-

 _True. I'm expecting a few counties after all this, myself_. Power, the final objective. A world in control of the different members of Diavolos Avante and Veritas overseeing everything that'll happen in the new world they would build. Any opposition to their reign would be crushed as soon as possible.

There were three commanders left before Mitsuhiko got back to his seat. The next, a young lady drumming her fingers onto the table, got his attention. She didn't turn around when he got there, so he cleared his throat. –"Yes?"- she asked with vitality when she turned around.

Mitsuhiko for a moment didn't know what to say. Her eyes were blurry and unfocused, almost lifeless, in obvious contrast with her voice. –"What happened to your eyes?!"- the hunter exclaimed, not caring about how insensitive and rude that was. The young lady narrowed her eyes, looking at Mitsuhiko's forehead.

-"I'm blind, you asshole"-

_Hiyoko Romi, 29 years old. Codename: Ronove. The Lyricist Demon and Commander of the Prefecture of Shiga. Unfortunately she suffers of some sort of genetic mutation that damaged her eyes, turning her legally blind. Before that she was a big part on the efforts to maintain morale in Japan, now she just deals with her prefecture with an admirable amount of efficiency._

-"Really?"- Mitsuhiko had heard about a blind commander, but he wasn't entirely convinced it was actually true –"I think you can see. You're looking at my face"-

-"I can see blurry shapes and colors, but I can't distinguish any details. But let me tell you, I'm blind, not retarded. Please don't treat me as if I can't deal with anything"-

Despite his intentions to keep himself distanced of everybody else, Mitsuhiko felt a budding respect for Romi. There was something admirable on somebody managing to get ahead and having a strong attitude despite the eyesight problems. After promising himself he'd keep tabs on Romi, as one of the two that seemed competent enough to be a threat for the supposed competition, Mitsuhiko stepped to the side of the last female commander to meet, one he didn't recognize at first sight.

She was wearing an occidental and very elegant black attire and was idly writing something on a notebook. Curious, Mitsuhiko carefully looked at the writings but then he raised his voice, annoyed –"The stuck-up hunter continued talking with everybody in clear contradiction of the intentions he claimed to have. This reporter's personal theory is that he was lying in a pitiful attempt to intimidate everybody for no reason at all"-

-"Am I mistaken?"- she muttered.

 _That's...mostly correct._ –"I'm not stuck-up!"-.

-"Got it"- she nodded before quickly writing more. 'Update: The hunter curiously protested to only the words 'stuck-up'. The rest of the affirmation went without any rebuttal; therefore he did try to intimidate everybody. Report #4 finished, Kyrie Mimori signs out'.

Mitsuhiko, who had been about to object to the accurate depiction of his intention, forgot what he was going to say when he saw the name. –"Wait, Valkyrie? The Main Board member?"-

-"Everybody thinks I am, but no"-

_Kyrie Mimori, 32 years old. Codename: Botis. The Journalism Demon and Commander of the Prefecture of Kumamoto. It's suspected she's Valkyrie of the Main Board, but she continuously denies it. The fact she finds out and handles confidential information of the upmost caliber doesn't help to get rid of those rumors._

Everybody in Diavolos Avante knew about the names of the Main Board: Veritas, Valkyrie, Vieiras and, recently, Wolfenmaus. Only Veritas showed his identity, and that was because he was the organization's leader. The rest stayed in the shadows, blending with everybody else in Diavolos Avante. The general opinion was that it was out of paranoia and fear of getting attacked, even if Veritas had made clear since the beginning that betrayal was something unforgivable in his organization.

Regarding Kyrie with suspicion, he went to the last commander to talk with. The man was expectantly looking around, not really paying much attention to what was going on. –"Hey you. Are you waiting for anything?"-

-"Oh? Oh, yes. I'm waiting for the Main Board to get in here. You read the letter, didn't you?"-

-"They'll be here when it's time. Why the hurry?"-

-"I have some projects I want them to check"- he briefly showed a folder filled with blueprints but closed it before Mitsuhiko could distinguish anything concrete. –"This is my chance of meeting the Main Board and show them my work"-

Mitsuhiko narrowed his eyes. Somebody was already trying to curry favor with the Main Board?

_Tohya Sasuga, 28 years old, the Robotics Demon. Codename: Caym. Commander of the Prefecture of Yamaguchi. A robotics genius, often creating drones and unmanned vehicles for espionage. It was said too that he was in contact with the Main Board, but looks like it may not be true._

-"Has anybody here ever met the Main Board?"- Mitsuhiko asked while he sat down.

-"I have"- Takayama the Bodyguard claimed –"Although I have never met Wolfenmaus, I think. Maybe I have and I don't know"-

-"Is Valkyrie or Vieiras in here?"- Hosoya inquired. Takayama looked around methodically without stopping on anybody.

-"I'm not allowed to say anything about their identities"-

While the candidates argued between themselves about the possibility one of them was a member of Main Board Mitsuhiko took out the letter that had called him to the Headquarters.

May 12th

Greetings, Hikari Mitsuhiko.

We at the Main Board have noticed your recent performance as the commander of our forces in Kyoto. You have been doing an excellent job and as a reward for your work you have been chosen as a candidate to be a member of our Main Board as the representative of our teams in Asia.

If you're chosen you'll receive all benefits we have and you'll have a very promising future after the world is back to normal. Please present yourself in the Diavolos Avante Headquarters in three days at noon.

Please don't tell anybody about this letter.

Valkyrie.

-"It's kind of funny that Mitsuishi, of all people, is here. He doesn't deserve a chance if you ask me"- Mitsuhiko said. Mitsuishi extended his middle finger in his direction.

-"What kind of task do you think we'll have to do? They must have something in mind to decide which one of us will be chosen"- Kishio mulled –"I think that we'll be in charge of a specially difficult group of members so we'll have to show leadership skills"-

-"You wish it were that"- Takayama muttered.

-"Does it really matter? Theorizing is useless. Just wait until...until..."- Fukuyama had started to say before stopping. For a moment the actor stared in disbelief towards the entrance of the Meeting Room, and then he pointed. –"We have company. Is she Valkyrie?"-

The door of the Meeting Room had opened slightly, just enough for somebody to stick their head inside. However the person who had looked inside wasn't a woman.

It was a little girl, of around eight years old. When it was obvious they had noticed their presence the little girl widened her eyes in surprise, bashful. –"My bad! I didn't mean to interrupt your discussion. Give me a second..."- the girl entered the Meeting Room, straightening her dark green dress.

The girl moved with confidence, as it she knew exactly where she was and who these people were, but nobody in the room seemed to have the slightest idea who she was or why there was a little girl in the Diavolos Avante Headquarters in the first place. It never had an elementary school and it had been years since the last time there were classes.

The girl stood on the far end of the table where the person leading the meeting was supposed to sit, allowing everybody to take a good look to her. She looked like a rose due to her dress and the vivacious red tone of her short hair, arranged in what almost seemed to be two nubby horns. –"Okay, let's get this on the road. You all have been called here for a reason: to get into the Main Board. We all know that Volkos has been...unfit to continue being a member of DeeEy so one of you will take his place, choose your new name and represent Asia"-

-"This can't be real!"- Kayano exclaimed –"Don't tell me you're somebody from the Main Board?"-

-"I'm not! I'm the organizer of this reunion. Sorry for having lied in my letter, but Valkyrie doesn't have anything to do with this"-

-"Then who are you?"- Sasuga asked what everybody was wondering. The girl displayed her brightest smile and with pride she replied:

-"My name is Lily and I'll be the Judge in the events of the next few days"-

-"The Judge? The events? ...What?"- Takayama thought he had heard incorrectly.

-"Yes, the Judge, /emTakayama-kun"- One of Lily's horns opened like a flower blooming, a projector appearing in the inside of the horn. That sudden quirk made Mitsuhiko do a double take, how could she do that? Sasuga was the one who said what was supposed to be obvious by now.

-"She's not human...she's a machine"-

-"Is she yours? You're the Roboticist here"- Romi inquired, trying to focus onto the image being displayed. It was a blank screen, at least for the moment.

-"No, she isn't. She's an admirable piece of work but she isn't mine"-

-"Excuse me?"- Lily waved her tiny hands –"I'm trying to talk here! So as I was saying I'm the Judge. My role will be to oversee your behavior during the next few days"-

-"Oversee what, exactly?"- Koshimizu asked calmly.

-"I'll explain"- in the projection images appeared. They resembled drawings done by a kid with crayons, the first image depicting Veritas –"Here is our Founder. He created Diavolos Avante to restore the world and reward those who help him. During all these years he has done amazing progress and now we have forces in most of the countries around the world! However we're in danger"- a humorous caricature of Enoshima was now in the projection –"She may be dead but the despair she left in the world is still active. Her followers are threatening Diavolos Avante!"-

-"Threatening how? Are they going to attack us?"-

-"I wouldn't be too worried. Aren't SHSL Despair's followers a bunch of drooling morons killing and mutilating each other? We can defend ourselves"- Hosoya said.

-"Not all of them are like that. There are a select few who have kept their faculties despite falling to despair. They're mostly high school children and to be honest I don't know where they are"- The screen displayed a photograph. It was a group of fourteen students with uniforms. The Hope's Peak emblem was visible over all of them. –"It's known these are some of them. There may be a few absent, but there's one that is important: the formerly known as Super High School Level Hope"-

-"You mean Izuru Kamukura?"- Yurie inquired. She had no idea where this was going on. Wasn't this going to be some sort of competition? What this did have to do with that?

-"Yep! That one!"- Lily cheerfully replied –"Oyama-san managed to steal something Kamukura created: The Enoshima AI"- Lily stopped for a moment for dramatic effect. The projector changed to show a drawing of a strange machine –"This AI is capable of infecting systems, as well as following its directives in whatever way it wishes. Think of it as a piece of Enoshima's soul. But Oyama-san noticed something very...worrying.

This AI has the ability to invade the human brain and install itself in the consciousness, corrupting the mind and turning the body in essentially a puppet for the AI. Imagine that. One new Enoshima, more than one, a whole group of them with the same charisma and same despair-spreading abilities!"- The image changed to the photograph of the Hope's Peak students, this time with Enoshima's hair doodled on them.

_That really ruins the dramatic flair._

-"I don't really see how this is affecting us or DeeEy"- Hosoya stated, crossing his arms.

-"Should we expect those students to attack us?"- Sasuga inquired, staring at the photograph.

-"More importantly, how is this related to the contest?"- Takayama tried to change the topic but Lily pointed at him.

-"I'll get to that later! What was I talking about...oh! Okay, the Enoshima AI Oyama-san stole is an early version. It may not even fully work but we have good reasons to think SHSL Despair will get involved with Diavolos Avante using that same AI. I don't know how but I'm sure SHSL Despair will try to destroy us"-

Kayano stood up and hit the table with her hands –"Wait a second! Are you suggesting that we have left ruffians like those sneak into our proud organization? We're too intelligent for that to happen!"-

Lily closed her horn, interrupting the projection, and climbed on the table to be more assertive. Standing on front of Kayano her eyes glimmered –"Do you know what happened to Volkos?"-

-"He betrayed Diavolos Avante and had to surrender his life as punishment. There is nothing wrong with that"-

-"Haven't you considered that may not be the full truth?"-

Kayano opened her mouth but no sound came out of it. Once Lily saw she had nothing to reply she nodded, satisfied. –"There you go. The Main Board lied. They're hiding the truth but I don't know exactly why. But what I do know is that there's something going on in this organization, something rotten"-

-"But you don't even have proof the Main Board lied!"- Yasumoto protested.

-"I don't, but that's what I have called you all here. I have good reasons to believe one or more of the commanders here are involved in this conspiracy against Diavolos Avante"- Lily stood on her end of the table and announced aloud –"The one of you that finds out whom the traitors are and exposes them to everybody will be rewarded the spot in the Main Board!"-

-"So that is the contest: find out who are part of SHSL Despair and are trying to get rid of DeeEy"- Fukuyama touched his mask –"Don't look at me! This is just for my character"-

-"That is correct!"- Lily heralded, pointing at Fukuyama's mask. –"SHSL Despair is our enemy! Junko Enoshima's followers are our enemies! Those who take the form of that bear are our enemies!"-

-"Did you call?"-

Everybody turned towards the doors of the Meeting Room and paled. The person they least expected had arrived to the contest. Lily grimaced. –"This wasn't something I really expected"-

Monobear strolled to the table and climbed on, walking straight towards the little girl. Lily and Monobear met in the middle of the long table, almost fuming. Monobear unsheathed his claws, ready to attack, but Lily wasn't going to be left behind.

Her fingers moved in ways a human's hand wouldn't allow until they opened in perfect circular formation, revealing a glass circle embedded in the palm, and pointed it to Monobear's head. Nobody knew what exactly it was but it was clear it was a weapon of some kind.

The commanders stared at Monobear and Lily, trying to process the scene. What seemed to be a simple process had turned into a contest to find the best among them to replace Volkos and now had turned into a fight between two mechanical beings, and the chances of it stopping there without further consequences or problems were practically null.

Mitsuhiko could only think one single sentence, having forgotten his purpose to stay high and mighty. The strategies he had created with Yurie were now of no importance in comparison to the recent developments.

_...what did I get myself into?_


	2. Prologue II: Sixteen Commanders, a Girl and a Bear

Monobear and Lily stared at each other, ready to attack at the slightest provocation. The tension was thick and nobody really dared to say a word. Everybody looked at the robots, ready to take cover under the table if the situation got too dangerous.

-“It’d be nice if you got out of here, Monobear”- Lily said, tense.

-“After mentioning me so many times it was impossible for me to not to appear. The literary tropes command so!”-

-“What are you doing here, Monobear?”- Koshimizu asked, leaning on his chair. He seemed pretty blasé over the whole thing, curiously.

-“I’m here to set everything straight. She is the bad guy of this story and I’ll be your hero tonight! How often do you have a bear saving your collective asses?”-

-“...yeah, not buying it”- Sugita muttered –“You are Monobear, nothing good can from you”-

-“And it’s not fair, I got here first! I’m supposed to be in control here!”- Lily didn’t lower her arm but stomped on the table, as if she were about to throw a tantrum –“You can’t steal my show like this!”

A sudden noise filled the room when Fukuyama moved the table when he stood up to get a better look at what was going on. Lily looked away just for a second, being thrown out of balance. Monobear didn’t have such problems but as soon as Lily lost her focus he attacked with predatory savageness.

Monobear’s claws pierced Lily’s chest, sparks flying everywhere. Lily gasped, having been caught off guard, and tried to get away, but Monobear continued his attack. His claws ripped apart the little robotic girl’s frame, spilling away wires and chips from the inside of his opponent. Mitsuhiko shuddered, imagining the scene with a real bear and a real human.

He promised himself he would stay away of Monobear at all costs. He didn’t want to know what it felt to be killed like that.

The carnage didn’t take long. The only thing that was left of Lily was her head, frozen in a look of surprise. The table was covered in her pieces while Monobear pretended to lick his claws as if he were trying to taste blood from them. Everybody’s faces displayed shock and dismay. None of them knew Lily at all but that didn’t diminish the brutality of her death. Mimori took a deep breath and slowly stood up, moving to a corner of the room, grasping her notebook and pen. Mitsuhiko could see a line of ink crossing the page. –“Give me a second. I think I’m in shock”- Hearing the admittance of the obvious reaction to the event woke up something in him.

-“H-He destroyed her! Complete obliteration!”- Mitsuhiko exclaimed, bolting up and about to take out his gun if Monobear moved towards him. Who cared if it was not a real bear, he’d have his head on the wall if that thing took a single step in his direction.

-“Did you expect anything else? A fight between a bear and a human always ends with a victory for the bear; it’s the laws of nature. That’s why bears are the best animals ever! Anybody who tries to attack me will go through this same experience”- Monobear’s eyes glowed, erasing any possible doubts of its seriousness. Retracting his claws Monobear got to where Lily’s head laid and pushed it off the table. –“Now we’ll start what we got here for! Lily wanted this to be a contest to take the spot in the Ma-“-

Before anybody could know what happened there was a round hole on Monobear’s head, having erased all of the features in its face. Monobear stood still for a moment before crumbling down. This time instead of mere shock the commanders got into what some would call ‘calculated panic’. Nobody screamed hysterically, nobody tried to run towards the door. They were proud commanders of Diavolos Avante in the world of despair; they were used to situations where their lives were in risk. The priority was assessing the situation and find out where the danger was coming from. Everybody threw themselves onto the floor, covering under the table and the chairs. Sugita was the one who saw what had killed Monobear and dared to stand up first. –“Over there! The entrance!”-

Lily had entered the Meeting Room and her hand had been aiming to where Monobear had been standing just a few moments ago. Her fingers retracted to their normal position and the glass in her hand was covered with plaques of whatever material her skin was made of. –“Concentrated lasers enhanced with special glasses. All the intensities needed in one weapon”- she explained, climbing on the table to take Monobear’s body and put it on a corner while everybody returned to their seats. –“Monobear mentioned what happens between a bear and a human, but didn’t say anything about hunters and bears”-

-“Um, I don’t mean to sound negative but isn’t Monobear known because he isn’t stopped easily?”- Hosoya said blinking in what Mitsuhiko interpreted an attempt to be childishly innocent.

-“That’s right!”- For the fourth time the doors revealed somebody, although this time it wasn’t that much of a surprise. Monobear had returned. –“I’ll keep coming back over and over”-

Lily didn’t prepare her laser again, instead looking at Monobear carefully. –“...how many of you exist?”-

-“Oh, I don’t have that many”- Monobear put a paw behind his head –“Only about a novemdecillion”-

-“Novemdewhat?”- Hosoya whispered to Sasuga.

-“Ten to the power of sixty, I think”- The roboticist replied –“But of course he must be bluffing. There’s no place in the city where you could store that many Monobears”-

-“Would you like me to bring all of them over?”- Monobear smugly retorted –“I could fill this entire building with my beautiful doppelgangers if I wished!”-

Lily smirked, shrugging. –“I have a novemdecillion and two...Monobear, we can’t continue killing each other or we won’t ever be done with this”-

-“I agree. There’s no time for one-sided fighting”-

-“Plan B?”- Lily extended her hand, showing she didn’t mean to attack him anymore.

Monobear only took a second before putting his paw over Lily’s hand. Both robots begrudgingly accepted each other, having left their enmity aside for the moment. –“Plan B”-

-“What’s the meaning of this?”- Sasuga felt a tic on the corner of his eye –“Why are you two suddenly in peace? What’s plan B?”-

-“If we are in even forces then we can’t fight. We’ll have to settle this in some other way”- Lily started, letting Monobear continue the sentence

-“There are people in this room who want to destroy Diavolos Avante or SHSL Despair. We’ll see what side wins here”-

-“And the only way will be through a game of mutual killing”- both finished at the same time.

The commanders were in silence for a moment, trying to decide if they had heard correctly. Finally Mitsuhiko spoke. –“I got lost. How did we get to ‘hey let’s do a mutual killing game?’”-

-“I have to agree, this is way too sudden”- Takayama said –“Besides neither of you seems to be on DeeEy’s side. We have no reason to take part in this”-

-“Oi! This may be hard to believe but I’m being controlled by the Main Board”- Monobear said –“I can’t reveal which one I am but I’m on your side”-

Lily pouted –“Don’t pretend to be the good side here, bear. I am on Diavolos Avante’s side...I’m not controlled by the Main Board but you have to believe me”-

-“So our options are the symbol of despair or the girl who pretended to be Valkyrie to call us here”- Mimori had started writing again in her notebook and showed it to everybody. She had drawn herself with X in her eyes and the words ‘We’re royally fucked’

-“There are traitors between you that are going to destroy DeeEy at any cost. Use your time in the mu...mu...”- Lily had started saying until the doors of the Meeting Room creaked again. It was starting to get annoying to have to focus on the entrance at random times, although once again this was somebody nobody expected.

Mainly because they had never seen her before. A woman with a blue uniform and cap was peering inside the meeting room. Judging by her clothes and the big bag filled with packages she was a courier. –“Who the hell are you?”- Lily and Monobear asked at the same time.

The fact that a teddy bear and a girl were standing on a table with pieces of machines around, as well as fifteen people in different states in disbelief didn’t seem to bother her –“Hello? Tomorrow Enterprises wishes you all a good day. I have a package for one...”- the woman looked closer at the name in a package she had in her hand –“...Hikaru Mitsuhide?”-

-“It’s Mitsuhiko Hikari”- the hunter replied, standing up to receive the package. The courier gave it and bowed, going away quickly. Mitsuhiko sat and started to open the package. The name on it really was written incorrectly, for some reason. Glancing at it with suspicion he shook it slightly, trying to guess what was there.

-“Use this game of mutual killing to get rid of the traitors”- Lily finished what she had been saying before the courier interrupted –“And as a reward I promise you’ll be rewarded with the spot in the Main Board. There’s only one spot so you better act quickly!”-

-“So we kill the traitor and we get the place? Sounds good to me”- Sasuga nodded. The commanders murmured between them, discussing the development. It was an interesting situation for them and frankly it wasn’t like any of them was a beginner in the matter of ending lives. All of them at some point in their careers in Diavolos Avante had killed. –“I’ll do the same reward, just that unlike her I can give the Main Board place”- Monobear said –“But this is the catch: if you kill you have to avoid getting caught, or else you’ll receive a punishment!”-

-“What punishment? Does the killer get thrown out of the headquarters?”- Kobayashi was sweating; this wasn’t what he had expected from his first meeting as a commander.

-“Nope! The killer will get fired from Diavolos Avante. Oh, and also will be executed, but that’s just a minor detail, gyahahaha!”- The bear laughed noisily. Some people expected to see the sewn grin get bigger. The commanders smiled between them, having supposed something like that.

-“Well, wasn’t that predictable”- Mimori droned.

-“You! Why are you letting this happen?”- Kobayashi shouted at Lily. The girl looked away and replied with surprising coldness.

-“I was going to start a mutual killing game before Monobear arrived. His presence won’t ruin my original plans. The rules: First and most important one: the killer must mislead everybody and get away of all suspicions. That’s the condition for the culprit to win”-

-“After a murder there’ll be a short investigation followed by a trial where you’ll vote for the culprit. If you guess correctly the blackened commander will be executed and the rest will return to the game. But if you accuse an innocent commander...everybody who is innocent will be executed and the survivor will be given the spot!”- Monobear continued the speech.

Romi raised her hand –“I have a hard time believing Veritas is going to accept this. He wouldn’t let any of us hurt each other”-

-“That’s too bad! I have his authorization to carry this contest, if you don’t believe it ask him directly”-

-“I will. Where is he?”-

Monobear shrugged –“I don’t know. Australia, maybe?”-

-“Something definitely is fishy here...”- Kishio muttered to herself, thoughtful.

-“He isn’t around and there’s no way to contact him, either way”- Lily intervened –“Second rule: If any of you attempts to contact anybody outside the terrains of these headquarters in any way you’ll be executed instantly”-

-“Anybody who attacks me will be killed. Attacking Lily is allowed, though”- Monobear added.

-“No it isn’t!”-

-“This all sounds like we’re going to be here for a while. Where will we sleep?”- Sasuga inquired, other commanders agreeing the question.

-“Some classrooms on the first and second floors have been turned into bedrooms. Remember none of them have locks nor are soundproof”- Lily replied.

-“Finally, damaging anything belonging to the headquarters will be punished with death too”- Monobear said the last rule –“Follow these rules and we’ll have a fun time here!”-

-“Oh?”- Mitsuhiko had been opening the package while the robots droned about the rules, but the content of the box wasn’t what expected. Yurie and Takayama leaned towards him, curious, but when the bodyguard saw what it was he announced it aloud for everybody to listen.

-“He received a gun!”- Everybody leaned forwards to see.

Mitsuhiko punched Takayama’s arm, his fist colliding against his armor. Grunting through his aching fingers the hunter nodded. –“Yes, a gun. Nothing wrong with that”-

-“At least now we know who to blame if anybody dies shot”- Kobayashi said.

-“Who send it?”- Oyama whispered, leaning towards him. Mitsuhiko examined the box, trying to find a note or anything that could indicate the sender, but there was nothing.

-“If you’re all finished with gawking at Hikari-kun’s  acquisition then let’s wrap this up”- Lily said aloud, pushing Monobear aside and getting off the table –“Let our contest begi-“-

-“Um, excuse me?”- For the last time that day somebody peered through the doors. It was the courier again –“I think the gates are locked. Could any of you please open those so I can return to work?”-

Everybody turned to look at the robots. Lily walked towards the courier –“No you won’t! You’ll be staying here with the rest. Who are you?”-

-“I am Emiko Tanaka, courier. Please, somebody open the...”-

-“We can’t allow that to happen. You’ll stay locked in here with the rest”-

-“Why don’t we let her take part of our contest?”- Monobear suggested –“One player more would be fun”-

-“Sure, why not?”-

-“I don’t really have time for contests...”- Emiko said –“...I have a lot of packages to deliver”-

-“Too bad!”- Monobear jumped and grabbed the bag before Emiko could react. The bear carried the bag to a corner while Lily addressed everybody else.

-“We have another contestant here! Say hello to Emiko Tanaka, recruited into Diavolos Avante just three seconds ago”-

-“Diavawhatchamacallit? What’s going on here?!”- Emiko was starting to freak out. Lily grabbed Emiko’s wrist and led her to the only chair without an occupant. The commanders started protesting the new addition to the group.

-“You must be jesting! She isn’t a commander!”- Kayano argued, fiddling nervously with the strings of pearls in her clothes.

-“She doesn’t even recognize the name of our organization”- Romi scoffed –“Looks like we got our first victim now”-

-“Victim? What’s going to happen to me? I demand an explanation!”- Emiko tried to stand up but Lily held her down onto the seat. Monobear had been watching the new development with amusement and decided to take part into the fun.

-“It’s not that hard to understand. People will try to kill each other and the one who does it without getting found out will escape this building. You should give it a try tonight!”-

With every word Emiko had turned paler and paler. –“I won’t stay here to be killed. I won’t let that happen!”-

-“Then you kill somebody and this’ll be over”-

-“Stop egging her, Monobear”- Lily said bluntly –“Everybody may leave now. Tanaka-san will stay here while I explain the situation”-

-“But she can’t be part of the Main Board!”- Mitsuishi protested while everybody else prepared to leave, resigned –“I have merits and qualities, a commoner like her shouldn’t even be allowed to be in here”-

-“That’s too bad!”- Monobear replied to Mitsuishi and turned towards Emiko once he got to the door –“People sure doesn’t like you. We should call you the Unwanted Demon! That’ll fit. Bastards, follow me! I’ll show you your bedrooms”-

Slowly, the commanders left the Meeting Room. The atmosphere had been utterly ruined when Emiko was included in the game. The possibility of she winning the contest was unfair! They had all worked hard to get to their positions and a courier who didn’t even know the name of the organization had gotten the same rank than them.  

Finally Lily and Emiko were the only ones left in the room while the girl explained to the horrified courier the conditions of the contest.

-ooooo-

 

-“Those two sure are considering this a game”- Koshimizu commented, looking at the posters.

Somebody had placed several posters around, representing the robots. Lily’s posters had a picture of the little girl smiling angelically with a detailed typography around her “Let’s save Diavolos Avante! Lily will be your savior!”- Hosoya read –“I wonder if she placed all of these before going into the Meeting Room”-

-“These ones are pretty ugly if you ask me”- Yasumoto was looking at one of Monobear’s posters. Only one was drawn, the rest had been photocopied. The drawing of Monobear’s face had been hurriedly done and the handwriting under it was almost illegible –“Because bears are the best. Support Monobear!”-

-“I still don’t know very well what’s going on. Both Lily and Monobear are claiming to want to help DeeEy and that doesn’t make any sense”- Takayama said –“I simply can’t imagine Monobear being on our side. SHSL Despair must be in this building”-

-“Yeah, why would the Main Board use Monobear as their representative? Why didn’t any of them come directly? To be honest I’d trust Lily more than Monobear any day of the week”-

-“But Lily brought us here with lies, pretending to be Valkyrie. I’ll take my chances with Monobear”- Romi said, looking at the stairs towards the second floor –“I don’t remember seeing that white stripe earlier. Are those letters?”-

Hanging from the ceiling on top of the stairs there was a banner with big green letters –“CAMP LILY”- Sugita read and looked to the hall of the first floor –“Over there it says ‘CAMP MONOBEAR’, painted on the wall”-

-“The longer this goes the more this seems like all this was planned in advance”- Fukuyama said –“Those two must be in cahoots, so it won’t matter who we choose to trust. Either way I’m going this way”- The actor in the mask walked towards the classrooms on the first floor. Mitsuhiko looked at each banner and approached to Oyama.

-“Only somebody from the Main Board would be able to make one be part of the Main Board. I’ll go to this side”- he said and walked to Camp Monobear. There were eight classrooms, so Mitsuhiko picked one randomly. None of them was marked or seemed to have any distinctive qualities, it didn’t matter which one he picked.

The classroom that would be his bedroom was pretty simple. There were a lot of desks piled on one side and besides them the only other furniture was a single bed. _Not the comfiest of places._ _There isn’t even a bathroom here_. As far as Mitsuhiko knew the Headquarters were never intended to host a lot of people at once, it was understandable the bedrooms didn’t have any luxuries.

Curiously enough, besides the desk and the bed there were a few boxes. Opening one Mitsuhiko found clothes and trinkets, everything possibly customized to him, judging by how one of the boxes had several hunting magazines as well as a gun catalogue. Taking the chance to see what type of gun he had been delivered, Mitsuhiko took the catalogue and looked for the gun. It was apparently part of a set, Twin M9 Berettas.

-“Mitsu-chan, we must discuss our strategies. Now”-

Oyama had knocked on the door. Mitsuhiko opened it and soon his fiancée entered, sitting on the bed. Without waiting for Mitsuhiko to say anything she went directly to the point of her visit –“So who will we kill?”-

-“That courier seems to be the best target. Nobody will miss her”-

-“No, you idiot!”- Oyama scolded –“Do you think the Main Board will be impressed at all if you go for the easiest target available? We need to do a good kill here. Think of people on the level of Kishio-sensei”-

Mitsuhiko shook his head –“Way too risky. Surely she and people like her will always have somebody to keep as company”-

-“At least you understand we can’t stand around and wait to be murdered. It’s good to see you have a brain, dear”-

-“Nobody will strike without having a clear plan, I’m sure of that. We have enough time to detect any possible attacks towards us, don’t worry about that”-

-“I’m not worried. Mitsu-chan, I want you to have a target by tomorrow night. The sooner we get a murder in the way, the better, although...we need to find a weapon. Your gun won’t be any good here”-

-“That won’t be a problem”- Mitsuhiko took his personal gun out and compared the bullets for the Beretta and his own gun. They were very different in size and shape –“These people have only seen the gun in the box, nobody knows about this one. We simply need to use my gun, hide it and pretend the one everybody saw is the only one I had”-

-“Good thinking”- Oyama accepted, standing up –“We sure got this over quicker than I expected. It’s really nice to see you were already scheming, Mitsu-chan. The Main Board will be to our reach before anybody notices”- she walked to the door, having confirmed Mitsuhiko was willing to kill somebody to get to their goal, but before going away she turned around for a last time that day –“Mitsu-chan, I’ll protect you. No harm will befall you as long as I’m around, I promise”- and then she left.

Feeling a bit more cheerful Mitsuhiko piled the desks against the door. Nobody would be able to open it without throwing down the pile, alerting him and everybody else. That was the only security measure he could take, after all the door didn’t even have a lock. The hunter decided to stay in his bedroom for the rest of the day, considering the different options he had for the next day.

First than all he needed to explore the headquarters. He was pretty much the only one besides Emiko who hadn’t graduated from Delacroix, so while everybody else knew what was around he had no idea what he could expect to find. He needed to know the available places so he could finish planning the murder. _There must be a way for both Yurie and me to win the contest. I really need to think..._

-ooooo-

11:00 PM. Vieiras sighed, tired. –“It’s done. I finally gained access to the cameras system”-

-“About time!”- Valkyrie chastised –“You were at it for hours!”-

-“Not my fault. You focus on controlling Monobear and I’ll do what I do best”- Vieiras retorted. Wolfenmaus was looking at the hallway, waiting for their Accomplice to come, the accomplice that had given them Lily’s letter as well as the blueprints. A shadow came through the hallway, but much to his surprise it wasn’t alone. There was a second shadow coming.

-“We have a problem here”- Wolfenmaus said, returning towards Valkyrie and Vieiras. Before he could explain exactly what had happened the Accomplice entered. Much to Wolfenmaus’ surprise the second shadow didn’t stay hidden; instead they entered, making themselves known. Valkyrie stood up, not knowing if she should feel outraged or amused.

-“What’s the meaning of this?”-

-“I-I’m sorry. I was found out but the good news is that we may have some help here. A new accomplice”-

-“You’re despairingly stupid, definitely despairingly stupid. Not a single day passed before anybody found out about us?”- Vieiras said.

-“It’s only one person. Besides, it could be worse, right? This can be a great help”-

-“I suggest creating the first murder with this person as the victim. We can’t let anybody else know about us”- Valkyrie intervened. The intruder cleared their throat, getting their attention.

-“When your Accomplice dies then what’ll you do? Monobear won’t be enough; you need a real human in middle of the group. I really think you should have me as your backup. If anything happens to the Accomplice then I’ll take the job, okay?”- they talked with confidence, as if they knew the Main Board wouldn’t refuse letting them be part of the conspiracy –“I know very well that you three have been affected by the Enoshima AI. With my help you’ll get this contest to its end with success. Accept my help!”-

The Main Board stayed silent for a moment, considering the offer. Finally Valkyrie shrugged. –“I’d be more comfortable if we could insert the AI in you, though”-

-“No thanks. I have no interest on having Enoshima in my brain”-

 Valkyrie smirked –“How exciting it is to leave the plan up to fate! We accept”-

The Accomplices shook hands, elated. They were a team now. The First Accomplice prepared to give a report, taking out a piece of paper. –“We arranged ourselves with eight people in each camp. Here’s a list”- Wolfenmaus took it and read aloud.

-“Camp Lily: That courier Tanaka, Yasumoto, Sasuga, Sugita, Kayano, Kishio, Kobayashi, Mimori

Camp Monobear: Hikari, Oyama, Romi, Fukuyama, Mitsuishi, Takayama, Hosoya, Koshimizu”-

Wolfenmaus and Valkyrie approved the report. –“Any ideas of who the people behind Lily’s existence are?”- Vieiras asked

Neither Accomplice said a word; instead they fidgeted awkwardly –“I don’t know yet”- the First said –“I have suspicions but no way to confirm it yet. What will we do tomorrow?”-

-“We already have something prepared for tomorrow. I’ll prod Lily to play along; it shouldn’t be hard, but after the murders start I bet she’ll start fighting back”-

Despite Monobear’s intervention having been planned literally when the commanders were entering the building; the Main Board had created a fairly detailed plan to obtain their new member. Lily was pretty much the only problem, as they had no idea how she or her creators would react to the murders.

The Main Board let their Accomplices return to sleep and prepare themselves for the contest to officially start. Vieiras stretched, standing up –“I’ll check on Veritas”- and with that he left the room. Wolfenmaus approached Valkyrie.

-“It’s worrying that Lily simply accepted the mutual killing game. We did suspect there’d be something like that but I thought she’d at least pretend to not to want it”-

-“True. What could her creators be planning, I wonder?”-

**~~Fifteen~~ ** **Sixteen Commanders, a Girl and a Bear.**

**END**


	3. Chapter 1: The Flaw in Our Fortress (Ab)normal Days

The morning brought a new perspective to Mitsuhiko in a sense It was time to get the show going and plan every step for the murder. First he put the gun he had received via courier in his belt, making sure everybody would be able to see it. The more they linked that gun with him, the harder it’d be to think he had any other gun. That was going to be an important part of the plan.

The other gun, the one he’d use in the murder was hidden in the boxes in the classroom. It was a bad hiding place but it was better than leaving it anywhere in the school. Maybe if he found a better place in his exploration that day he’d change the place.

_Where’s that damn cafeteria?_ He thought the moment he stepped out of the classroom. Sharpening his hearing sense, something that was often useful in his work, he detected what seemed like a group of people talking. Mitsuhiko walked in front of a few doors, getting further into the Headquarters. The cafeteria seemed to be at the end of the Monobear Camp, after turning a few times from the hallway. It was a dead end with no other path other than that, unless one counted the ventilation shafts on the ceiling, far away of anybody to reach.

Everybody except Tanaka was in the cafeteria. There were rather pleasant smells in the air which was rather curious. Taking a moment to enjoy the smell Mitsuhiko wondered who was cooking. Neither Monobear nor Lily seemed to be the type to cook for their hostages, so without bothering to greet anybody other than Yurie, Mitsuhiko entered the Kitchen.

-“Good morning, Hikaru-kun”-

Sugita had been the one. The Tea Demon, with a rather homely apron, was peering into a big pot of what seemed to be soup, smiling to herself. –“I’m telling you it’s with an i, Kimiko”-

-“Sorry, sorry!Relax and have a taste of this”- Sugita took a spoonful of hot soup and carefully passed it to Mitsuhiko. The hunter sipped it and gave his approval, remembering how from an early age Sugita had a knack for cooking. Her talents certainly had improved since their childhoods. –“It’s excellent!”-

-“Thank you!”- Sugita took off the apron and thoughtful remarked. –“There sure are a lot of provisions here, all of them of excellent quality. It’s ensured we won’t have any hunger hardships but it’s curious...”-

-“What’s so curious?”-

-“Here, look”- Sugita opened the Freezer and the fridge. They were completely full of food and meat. –“There’s also a small storage for other stuff. Everything is...well, not cheap. There are even some rare teas here. Lily even said that if we needed anything we only needed to ask her and she’d bring it”-

-“Pretty strange for somebody locking us in a place for a mutual killing game”-

-“I thought the same thing. After that Monobear appeared and said she wanted us to be full of energy so we could create amazing schemes”- Sugita, filling bowls of soup went to the cafeteria, passing them for everybody –“I wouldn’t be surprised if that were true, but still...at least a hot soup should calm our souls”-

Taking his own bowl Mitsuhiko sat to a side, observing everyone. People were talking as if their situation weren’t something to worry about. The atmosphere was quite relaxed while the commanders socialized; most of them already knew each other. Kishio and Yasumoto were with Kobayashi, cribbing the newbish commander with friendly questions. Yurie, Kayano and Koshimizu stayed to a side, talking courteously. Mitsuishi was shunned into a corner and was glaring at everybody. Sugita and Sasuga seemed rather friendly with each other in a way that reminded him of Yurie and him at times. Hosoya was walking around and listening to the conversations, Romi had gotten a guitar somewhere and was singing for Mimori and Fukuyama while Takayama sat near to them, fiddling with little black boxes Mitsuhiko couldn’t distinguish.

Overall a pretty peaceful group.

Once the breakfast was over Kishio stood up near the entrance to the Cafeteria, and clapped. –“Are there any objections if I take the leader spot here? Nice”- she asked quickly without giving anybody a chance to reply –“So we got locked here. Any comments regarding this worrying state of matters?”-

-“Lily had said she wanted from the beginning for us to have a mutual killing game, that by itself is alarming...”- Mitsuishi said.

-“Yeah, no need to say the obvious”- Kishio interrupted him before he could continue, as Yasumoto raised her hand –“Yes?”-

-“Shouldn’t Tanaka-san be here to hear us as well?”- she asked

-“We aren’t going to discuss anything about DeeEy, right? She’s not one of us”- Kobayashi said shyly, as if he expected to be yelled at. Other commanders made noises of agreement, making the newbie feel validated.

-“Amy is right”- Mitsuhiko said –“We don’t need to have that courier here. Let’s go straight to the point, okay?”-

-“No, I’ll check on her and get her some soup. Surely she must be starving”- Yasumoto took a bowl and carefully walked away. Nobody tried to stop her. Mitsuhiko thought for a moment and decided to follow her, at least to see if Tanaka had been murdered yet. If somebody had gone ahead and taken the target before him then he’d need to rethink his options.

The Mind Demon walked up to Camp Lily until she noticed she had no idea which one was Emiko’s classroom. –“Huh. Could you find Tanaka-san? I shouldn’t leave this bowl in the floor”-

-“Oh, sure”- Mitsuhiko had been distracted. He had been looking around to see if there was anything interesting. The lobby had a huge stone fountain, showing the wealth of the former school. It was composed of several human figures in varied positions, all of them standing relatively upright, but it wasn’t activated. The water in the fountain seemed to be stagnant _. Veritas sure likes stone statues._

It wasn’t the only location with statues. In Camp Lily after ascending to the second floor one could see several different statues of academic people to both sides of the hall. The stairs ended directly on the middle of the Lily Camp, forming balconies of sorts above the lobby. The classrooms were divided on groups of four on each side of the stairs.

Mitsuhiko knocked on the doors of the classrooms until a voice sounded behind one of the doors. –“Go away!”- The hunter pointed at the correct door so Yasumoto could see it. Yasumoto stood on and took the lead of the conversation.

-“Tanaka-san? I thought you could be hungry so I brought you some soup. It should put a spring onto your step”-

-“It’s poisoned, I bet”-

-“Pois...no! It’s not. If you wish to I could prove it to you”- Tanaka opened the door just enough for a part of her face to be seen. Yasumoto stood a bit back so she could be seen and took a few spoonfuls. _This is ridiculous_. Tanaka didn’t yield until after a while. She opened the door and received the bowl, retreating quickly.

The woman was quite a mess. Her uniform was wrinkled and she didn’t have her cap, it seemed like she hadn’t slept the whole night. –“Step away.”-

-“I’m Chiyo Yasumoto. You don’t have anything to be afraid of, Tanaka-san”-

-“That’s a lie. That girl told me you’d kill each other. I bet I’ll be the prime target, being the only one not in your group”-

Yasumoto frowned. –“We won’t fall easily into those evil beings’ schemes, I promise. Please don’t be afraid”-

Emiko didn’t reply. Yasumoto continued –“You’re an honorary member of our organization. It’s essential you try to integrate yourself; the more you stay away the more dangerous it can be for you. It’s simple pack behavior, people are less likely to intentionally hurt anybody they’re close to”-

After a moment of silence Emiko nodded and closed the door, but talked through it –“Give me a minute. I’ll be there”-

-“Great”- Yasumoto smiled and turned to Mitsuhiko –“Thank you for coming here. Would you please tell Kishio-sensei that we’ll be there in five minutes?”-

-“Sure”- he had seen enough. Tanaka was alive, but there was something that was bothering him about the courier. He couldn’t pinpoint what it was, but he felt like he was forgetting something.

Mitsuhiko notified Kishio and waited along the rest until Yasumoto and Emiko arrived. The Mind Demon attracted everybody’s attention on behalf of Kishio, as the Linguist Demon had stayed to a side. –“So we all are trapped and told to kill each other by a couple of robots. It’s ridiculous but we have no other choice than to fight back”-

-“You mean we should attack them?”- Mimori almost dropped her notebook, although her expression stayed carefully neutral.

-“I don’t want to end gutted like Lily!”- Hosoya exclaimed, recoiling. Yasumoto shrugged and clarified what she meant.

-“I didn’t want to imply we needed to destroy them. All we need is to do the opposite of what they ask for. Instead of killing each other what if we stay together as a group? Neither of them must be good news for DeeEy”-

Kishio coughed. –“As if we’re going to do that quickly enough. By the time we manage to tolerate each other enough to be united at least a few of us will be dead”-

-“Then we’ll have to force ourselves to cooperate with each other. Kishio-sensei, want me to say it or will you?”-

-“I think they’ll listen to me more for that matter”- Kishio straightened her clothes and spoke in a matter that showed she wasn’t kidding around –“You’ll all cooperate towards keeping a peaceful atmosphere here. Whoever shows to be a threat to anybody else will be...neutralized”-

-“You mean killed?”- Romi left her guitar aside.

-“No, neutralized. We’ll ensure the threat that person has is corrected, whether it is by just taking the weapon...or by locking them into a room...or by inflicting severe yet non-fatal wounds. We’ll see how we deal with that. _Tá sé pionós cóir,_ it’s a fair punishment”-

-“Yes, seems good to me!”- Kobayashi approved with enthusiasm –“I hope nobody will try to do anything now that there’ll be punishments”-

-“Shut up Amy”- Mitsuhiko muttered. He was going to need to be more cautious now. Monobear or Lily would do a trial if he was successful, but if he didn’t kill anybody and he was found out then he’d suffer the consequences _. Either way that won’t really stop me._

-“Thank you Kishio-sensei”- Yasumoto said –“There are a couple things more. First than all, Kobayashi-kun? Would you please be Tanaka-san’s friend?”-

-“I suppose, but why?”- Kobayashi raised his eyebrows

-“You two are more or less in the same position. You’re a new commander, intimidated by everyone else, and Tanaka-san is somebody afraid of us. You’re the one who can understand her the most of us all here”-

That seemed logical to everybody. Yasumoto continued –“We also need to keep ourselves relaxed. Kayano-san, you’re a dancer, aren’t you?”-

-“Yes”-

-“Do you know any relaxation and yoga exercises? We could do them every morning as a way to cleanse our mind and bodies”-

-“I could do that, yes. I can teach them a few exercises if they’re willing to endure them”- Kayano smiled.

-“¡Good! And last, please everybody remember that Koshimizu-kun and I are willing to help in anything you need. Feel free to talk to us about anything. We’re done, you may go”-

Yasumoto bowed and went away. _That was kind of tedious_. Now that the unexpected reunion Kishio and Yasumoto had done was over he was able to check what was in the available areas.

Mitsuhiko glanced at the stone fountain before exiting the building. As he remembered everything was surrounded by a tall steel fence. It was hardly an effective container, the only that was stopping anybody from talking to people outside was Monobear and Lily’s threats, although the school was in an area without a lot of citizens.

The despair the world was immersed in made those sane enough stay inside their homes. That was how the world after the end worked.

The Front Courtyard was no more than a path of cobbled stone towards the gates with an extension of grass and flowers that obviously hadn’t been cared of for a good while. Everything was green but wilting. _Veritas doesn’t make gardening his priority_. There were no trees in the courtyard, however there were a couple at the other side of the fence, even taller than their surrounding steel barrier.

Mitsuhiko walked around the building, looking at the walls. The Headquarters were a four stories tall building but the hunter knew it also had a large basement, so in total there were five stories. I have a lot of terrain to cover here. _Somewhere in this school there must be a good place to be the crime scene. The further we’re from people the better so the upper floors are the best._

At the other side of the building there was the Back Courtyard, larger than the Front Courtyard. There were several courts for different sports. Yurie had once told him that Veritas had built them when the Headquarters were a school so they could cultivate their sports talents, hoping they could get students with two titles. It hadn’t entirely worked, their successes were scarce.

_And look who is there_! Hosoya was examining a shed near the courts. –“Hosoya-kun? What do these courts get used for now that these are the Headquarters?”-

-“For nothing. Everything here is very dusty”- Hosoya rubbed a finger on the sports implements –“But as expected, nobody has time in years like this for friendly sports”-

-“These were for Veritas’ project, right?”

Hosoya took a basketball and dribbled it around. –“Yes. I was pretty good in basketball but not enough for Principal Delacroix, apparently. There were two or three I knew that managed to get a second title added to the one they got into this school”- the con man left the ball where she found it and contemptuously commented –“I bet that Yasumoto-san will try to do some sort of sports tournament”-

-“Nothing useful in here, it seems”-

-“Yes, forget about this shed, I just wanted to remember old times. I’ll be in my room if you need me”-

Other than the shed and the courts there was one thing more in the Back Courtyard: a Greenhouse. _Curious! Let’s see_... Despite the lack of care the Greenhouse’s contents were still impressive. Plants as tall as him welcomed him, tickling his neck when he walked under them. There were even colorful flowers in some parts. Everything was marked with little cards that mentioned each plant’s qualities and dangers. Cool, here I could get something to knock out or poison a target, if I wished. A bottle of medicine can be noticed missing but nobody would ever notice a handful of leaves gone.

As there was nothing else worth seeing in the outside of the Headquarters Mitsuhiko returned inside. The back exit of the school was locked with a padlock, so the front door was the only option to enter or leave the building. The stone fountain once again received him and this tie the hunter walked towards the left, away of the Monobear Camp.

The first thing he found was the Infirmary, just a few meters away of the Meeting Room. Inside was Koshimizu, now wearing a very clean lab coat. The man turned around when he heard the doors open. –“Hikari-kun. Do you have any business here?”-

-“I’m just looking around. Did you study here, Koshimizu-san?”- the Medical Demon’s age is something that bothered him. He was almost double his age, after all!

-“I did. I graduated from the very first class Delacroix had, when I was eighteen”-

-“It must be strange to be a commander of such age among us youngsters”- Mitsuhiko tried to insert a subtle barb into his words. Koshimizu frowned.

-“I’m used to that. Besides I have abilities none of you would ever dream of having”- Koshimizu took a scalpel from a drawer –“I’d like to see you operating somebody. A botched surgery should give you a lesson in humility. You’re in dire need of one, little brat”-

-“Remind me to not to fall sick around you. Is there anything interesting about this place?”-

-“Hum”- Koshimizu left the scalpel back into the drawer –“Not much, but it’s curious how well stocked this place is. I remember that in past times the headquarters didn’t have as many medicines and medical implements”-

-“Lily must have prepared them”-

-“There are anesthetics and other chemicals in that cabinet. Once I close it nobody should be able to get into it and I’ll have the only key”-

_Yep, definitely will have to rely on the leaves._

Leaving the Infirmary Mitsuhiko walked through the hall. He calculated he was getting onto the back of the building and what he saw through the windows confirmed it. However the back door of the Headquarters weren’t there. Does that mean that those doors don’t go into the first floor? The presence of a diagonal portion of the roof in middle of the hallway did show there was something behind the walls, probably stairs.

At the end of that hallway Mitsuhiko found a large room with rows and rows of desks with computers. A small sign on the door informed what it was. ‘Delacroix – Administrative Offices.’ Wondering if it was possible to contact anybody via Internet through the computers Mitsuhiko turned on one of them. It worked perfectly but Mitsuhiko was unable to progress once a session was started. The computer showed there were no files in the computer, nor any software installed. They had been wiped clean...most likely. Mitsuhiko considered for a moment the merits of getting Yurie to try to find anything in the computers but discarded the idea. It really didn’t matter to him; after all it isn’t like he was planning to snoop anything.

I think that is everything in this floor. I’m done. He thought while he returned to the fountain. The second floor was the only place left to check, so he ascended upstairs until he reached Camp Lily. The second floor had one long hallway, divided into classrooms-turned-bedrooms. The left side of the hallway was a dead end, ending in a closed door, also fit with a padlock. Mitsuhiko tried to open it but it was pretty well closed. _This must go to the second floor too._

The hunter was disappointed when he found the other end of the hall also led to a locked door, mirroring the first he had found. _There can’t be three doors that go into the second floor. One must lead to the Basement. I wonder if Lily or Monobear has the keys..._

That seemed to be everything there was to see, everything else was locked. Suppressing a yawn Mitsuhiko descended the stairs towards the fountain and decided to go to his room. Not having anything else to do he considered prodding a few people to see if Emiko was around. No matter what Yurie said Mitsuhiko considered that she was the best option as a victim. Turning around to look back the hunter noticed there was one hall he hadn’t gone through yet, directly behind the stairs. Intrigued Mitsuhiko walked into the hall, finding it had no illumination. The bulbs were off except for a yellow square at the end of the hall, showing it was a room.

When Mitsuhiko entered he found what seemed a Theater. There were several rows of comfy seats in front of a wooden scenario with curtains; it was quite a simple place, but there was somebody already examining another door with curiosity.

Seeing Emiko peering through a door reminded him exactly what had bothering him since the day before.

Holding a gasp of realization, Mitsuhiko ran back to the Cafeteria, hoping to find somebody who could help him. If there was somebody who could do what he wished it was the Mind Demon. Luckily Yasumoto still was sitting to one of the tables, talking to herself. –“...and nobody has seen him around. Where could Monobear be...?”-

-“The longer he stays away the better”- Mitsuhiko replied and went straight to the point –“Are you able to tell if somebody is lying, Yasumoto-san?”-

-“I know a couple techniques but I’m not infallible. Why do you ask?”-

-“There’s something about that courier that was strange and I finally found out what it was. I want to interrogate her, please go with me and tell me if she lies”-

Yasumoto folded her hands under her chin, thinking for a moment before standing up –“Okay, I suppose there’s no harm on that. Where is she?”-

-“In the theater. Do you know where it is?”-

-“It’s behind the stairs towards Camp Lily.  Let’s get this over with”-

Tanaka was going out of the Theater when Yasumoto and Mitsuhiko got there. –“Tanaka-san, there’s something he’d like to ask you”-

-“You better not lie”- Mitsuhiko pointed threateningly at the courier, who nodded. After they got seated on front of the scenarios Yasumoto grabbed Emiko’s wrist.

-“When one is stressed, nervous or anxious the heart starts beating faster. Start whenever you wish, Hikari-kun”-

-“Right”- Mitsuhiko looked at Emiko straight to the eyes but the courier seemed very interested on the ceiling. –“Who are you?”-

-“I-I’m Emiko Tanaka, courier...”- Mitsuhiko turned to Yasumoto, who had very focused on her task.

-“She’s saying the truth”-

-“Right”- the hunter continued –“You brought me a package yesterday, but there are some strange things in all this. Who sent the package? Nothing showed who did”-

-“Oh”- Emiko widened her eyes –“I have no idea. My supervisor gave me the packages to deliver; I don’t know who sent it”-

-“Truth”- Yasumoto quipped.

-“And how did you know where to find me? The only thing written on the package was my name. There was nothing else. And what’s more, only two days ago I decided to come here. Explain that”-

-“What’s there to explain?”- Emiko frowned –“My supervisor told me to come here. I’d suggest you ask him but since we’re locked...”-

-“That’s the truth. Are you sure you needed me, Hikari-kun?”- the Mind Demon inquired, but Mitsuhiko ignored her. There was one last thing he needed to ask, as that was what intrigued him the most.

-“One last thing: are you part of SHSL Despair or maybe...the Future Foundation?”-

Yasumoto almost dropped Emiko’s wrist. –“What does the Future Foundation have to do with your gun?”-

-“This courier’s company is called ‘Tomorrow Enterprises’. It’s pretty obvious there could be a link between her and the Future Foundation...or she could even be an agent of them!”-

Emiko gasped. –“I know nothing about the Future Foundation!”-

Yasumoto frowned –“She lied”- Mitsuhiko smirked, satisfied. Emiko was an agent from the Future Foundation, that had been confirmed. Emiko, noticing how bad that looked for her, hurriedly amended her words.

-“Okay, okay, I know about them! I...I do know Tomorrow Enterprises are protected by the Future Foundation but I have nothing to do with that! I’m just by myself”-

Yasumoto stared at Emiko, judging her expression. After a few seconds she gave her opinion. –“She’s telling the truth”-

Yasumoto’s verdict surprised Mitsuhiko. He had been so sure that Emiko was part of the Future Foundation, but now that the local psychologist had said she was telling the truth it was very difficult to believe Emiko had willingly gotten into the whole mess. –“I think we’re done here. I’ll be going back”-

-“Wait, one last thing”- Mitsuhiko stopped Yasumoto before asking Emiko –“Where’s that bag of deliveries of yours?”-

-“That little girl took it away after she explained me the situation, I don’t know where it is now”- Emiko practically ran away. Mitsuhiko watched her go before deciding to see what Emiko had been looking at before. The hunter opened the door on the side of the Theater, finding what seemed to be a storage. Lots of costumes and cans of stage makeup were aligned on shelves, all of them of average quality. Just to experiment the quality Mitsuhiko dipped a finger in a can of green paint that shone like plastic. _Anybody who looks closely would see these were makeup. Not the best stuff to have around._

Deciding it wasn’t important Mitsuhiko returned to the Theater, pacing from side to side. _I can’t attack Tanaka if her company is under the protection of the Future Foundation. I’ll have to go for someone else._

It was going to be annoying but the only option Mitsuhiko saw was to prod people around to see who was the most vulnerable. _Time to socialize with ulterior motives._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The layout for the First Area has been prepared. Next chapter is some Free Time and character development attempts, as well as Monobear/Lily's meddling and directly after that the chapter for the first murder.
> 
> That'll be more or less the order for the story, although it can vary depending on the chapter or situation.
> 
> So let's go!


	4. Chapter 1: The Flaw in Our Fortress (Ab)normal Days II

When Mitsuhiko walked outside of the hall to the Theater he found a figure leaning on a corner of the room, near the stairs. –"Takayama-kun?"- That armor and red clothes were unmistakable. The Bodyguard stood up, not too surprised to see somebody. –"You. Looking to shoot somebody with the gun you received?"-

_No, not with that one._ –"Of course not! I was exploring"-

-"Exploring. As if you have never been here before. You studied here for years and at least once you must have been here as a commander"-

-"I didn't study in Delacroix, moron"- Mitsuhiko withheld most of what he wanted to say –"What are you doing?"-

Takayama considered for a moment not saying anything, but the apparent advantages of replying with the truth outweighed the disadvantages. Raising his hand he pointed to a tiny black box, glued onto the corner. –"Do you see that?"-

-"I'll look closer"- he tried to check but Takayama stopped him, pushing him back.

-"Better not. What you see there is a microphone. I have set at least thirty microphones around"-

-"Microphones?"- Takayama never seemed somebody who dealt with technology like that.

-"Yes, microphones. Foreknowledge goes a long way when it's about protecting people. If I know what everybody is doing and what they plan I'll be able to combat any troubles accordingly"-

-"Did you make it by yourself? Are you good with machines, perhaps...with robots?"- Takayama being Lily's creator? It could be possible. Takayama smiled wistfully, maybe imagining himself creating a robot.

-"I'm not that good. Besides my specialty are microphones and transmissions, anything needed to listen to other people's plans. Lily is out of my league. Now if you excuse me I must continue"-

Knowing there were microphones hidden all over the place was a mighty deterrent to Mitsuhiko's plans, but they weren't enough to dissuade him to stop. He just needed to plan around that, find the microphones. –"And how do you plan this to listen to all the microphones?"-

-"I already took care of that"- Takayama said smugly –"I'll be able to listen to every word anyone says. Nobody is going to get away with murder as long as I'm around"-

-"Why would it be important for you to protect us? We're your competition; don't you want to get into the Main Board?"-

-"What for?"- Takayama shrugged –"I already am in contact with them. Being a Main Board member would make everything harder for me"-

-"But if anybody else tries to get into the Main Board you'll die!"-

Takayama descended the stairs towards his bedroom –"We're not going to let Monobear or Lily make us kill each other. Yasumoto-san, Kayano-san, Kishio-sensei and I have promised that we're going to keep peace in this place at all costs. No murder will happen.

We're building a metaphorical fort. You better not do anything, Hikari-kun. Oyama-san and you are the most unstable people in here, from what I see"-

Mitsuhiko ran to him –"Why so interested on protecting us? Just because you're a Bodyguard?"-

-"...it's not just that. Have you forgotten why DeeEy exists?"- Takayama stopped, talking with great seriousness –"We're here to restore the world. Sure, our personal interests for power are the biggest incentive we have, but we must restore the world and there are two robots here that are trying to stop us.

That's the duty of Diavolos Avante"-

Mitsuhiko thought for a moment Takayama's words. It was true. Could they be letting their wishes to get into the Main Board be blinding them? Were Yurie and him wrong? _Ridiculous. Once we get into the Main Board we'll be able to work better. Fourteen lives is a small cost to being able to restore the world._

_Maybe thirteen, if I can find a way to save Kimiko, but I doubt she'd agree to murder anybody._

-"I can't let this happen!"- Monobear had appeared from behind the fountain –"If this is going to stop people from killing then it must be against the rules"-

-"It isn't. Nothing you or Lily said yesterday overrules what I'm doing"-

-"Give me one of those"- Monobear took a microphone, looking at it closely –"Upupupu...I see, I see...This is going to be easy..."-

-"What's going to be easy?"- Takayama raised his eyebrows, worried. The bear tried to look as innocent as possible, which was extraordinarily hard.

-"Oh, it's nothing. I'll be taking this. Continue what you're doing"- Monobear walked away towards the second floor, throwing up and down the microphone. Takayama frowned, for a moment reconsidering placing the microphones, but finally decided to continue no matter what Monobear planned to do.

-"That bear can go impale himself with a spit for all I care. I'll keep going"- Takayama muttered.

-"Just curiosity, Takayama-kun...if you find out somebody is planning a murder and attacks what would you do?"-

Takayama pushed his glasses to his forehead, looking at Mitsuhiko intensely. –"What a strange question, kid. I'll tell you what I'd do.

I didn't turn into a good bodyguard by letting things happen. These microphones are the result of my work. If I found somebody trying to kill I'd simply..."- to summarize what he was trying to say he dragged his finger over his neck. Mitsuhiko felt himself tensing at the concise answer. –"The best defense is offense. Attack before you're attacked; strike them before they strike you. What doesn't exist can't attack you.

Some people say I have a paranoia complex but it's hard to call me paranoid when I turn out to be right so often"-

-"I want to help you"- Mitsuhiko said. If he could check where Takayama would be placing microphones then he'd be able to plan accordingly, find where there were no microphones and create the crime scene there. Unfortunately the Bodyguard wasn't stupid. Remembering the gun and what Yurie and Mitsuhiko had said when they arrived to the Meeting Room the day before it was clear they couldn't be trusted.

-"No. Stay away of me"- he said coldly, going away. Refraining from insulting him any further Mitsuhiko let him go. With some luck he'd be able to follow Takayama and see the location of a few microphones, as well as knowing how he planned to keep tabs on so many machines.

_I followed Takayama for an hour, seeing him place a few microphones._

Takayama entered to his bedroom after he finished placing the microphones and that marked the end of Mitsuhiko's stalking. At no point Mitsuhiko saw anything that could allow Takayama listen to the microphones, so the only possible conclusion was that it was in the bedroom. Just in case the hunter searched in all places he knew to see if there was a machine in contact with the microphones.

The only place where it could have been a possibility was the Administrative Offices, but after checking all computers there was nothing to be found. All of them were empty, just like the one he had checked earlier. It was now confirmed Takayama's bedroom must be the one to hold the contraption or...whatever allowed listening to them.

_Shouldn't be too hard to enter there. The classrooms doesn't have locks, it's a matter of keeping him busy while I sneak in. But even if I did I could only listen, it'd be hard to know where the microphones are._

Deciding that it wasn't worth it to try Mitsuhiko decided to simply be more careful, find a safe place. The only possibility would be to communicate with Yurie using some way that didn't involve saying it aloud. One mistake and they'd have the rest of the group buzzing around them.

-ooooo-

-"Kimiko, I need to ask you something"- The Tea Demon had been in her bedroom when he went to see her.

Mitsuhiko was trying to think of a way for him to save Sugita. If she helped in the murder could she be considered a culprit? Having three different culprits would make it hard for everybody to guess correctly. Sure, there was only one Main Board spot but he doubted Sugita had what was needed to be in such an important position.

Although...they hadn't talked in quite a while, since he moved to Kyoto. Sure, they had been in contact through phones and email, but the contest was pretty much the first time they met face to face since they were kids. Maybe she had changed.

-"What is it?"- Sugita smiled kindly.

-"Kimiko, please answer me honestly...you wouldn't kill anybody, right?"-

-"What's up with that question?"- she dropped the smile.

-"...if you suddenly got into a chance to kill without fail...would you do it? Please be honest, Kimiko..."-

The Tea Demon stared for a moment, unsure of what to say. –"That's a strange question, but...no, I wouldn't"-

-"You mean you don't want to be part of the Main Board?"-

-"I do, I do, but it would mean everybody else's death, right?"-

Mitsuhiko nodded. Expressing worry for everyone's lives indicated it wasn't very likely she'd accept. _I either trick her into cooperating somehow or I simply don't get her involved. Let's go with the second option._ Sugita averted her eyes. –"Hikari-kun, I promise you that if anybody dies and I'm the culprit I'll confess, no matter if it was an accident, self-defense or even a planned murder"-

-"Did you get attached to us?"-

-"What? No! To me almost everybody is a stranger and I don't really care what happens to them. It's just that...look, I don't want to talk about this"- Sugita crossed her arms. There was something strange in Sugita's behavior. Her tone did show she was telling the truth when she said she didn't care about the commanders, but then why would she confess causing a death?

-"Can I enter?"- Mitsuhiko doubted Takayama had installed microphones inside the bedrooms, at least for now. Sugita nodded and stepped aside, letting him go in. Sugita's bedroom was very similar to his own; there were almost no differences –"But seriously, Kimiko. Killing somebody is the only way to get out of this place. You have to be ready to end a life"-

-"I'm telling you I won't. Seriously, Hikari-kun, why the sudden questions? Did something happen?"-

-"Nothing yet, but it's just matter of time before it does"-

-"And will you be the killer, by any chance? You have been worrying me. Since you got here you seemed...I don't know, changed. Would you seriously not hesitate before ending a life?"-

-"I'm an assassin, I can't afford to hesitate"-

-"I see. You really went from hunting deer to hunting people. It's only matter of time before you get killed yourself"-

-"I'm offering you a chance, Kimiko. If we both kill somebody then both of us would get out of here, even if only one would go into the Main Board. I'd be willing to give the spot to you!"-

That didn't sit well with Sugita. Her face reddened while she grabbed Mitsuhiko's arm, making him bend down until he was directly in front of her eyes –"You scum of the earth, would you leave your fianceé to die here?"-

_...oops._ He had forgotten about that little detail in his hypothetical scenario. He had been just trying to find out how willing she'd be to join him into the plot. Inadvertently he surely had made her more reticent to try to take part of it. Without taking a moment to breath Kimiko continued berating him. –"I can't believe you have turned into that kind of person, you asshole. You're going to go away and not talk to me until I say it's okay. I won't tell Yurie about this because nobody deserves to hear their love is going to let them be killed but if I see you even thinking about letting her die I'll make sure everybody knows about this.

Understood, Hikaru?"-

Mitsuhiko nodded slowly, aghast. It sure had spiraled out of control. Kimiko let him go, her eyes filling with tears –"You have changed a lot. I can't find anymore the kid I knew..."-

-"I wasn't a good person either when I was a kid"-

-"I know you weren't but I never thought you'd sink this low. Now go away"- Kimiko pushed him towards the door, practically shoving him onto the hall. The hunter fell onto the floor, dazed, while the door closed behind him with a bang. _I haven't changed that much, have I?_

So far his attempts to go around and talk to people had been tremendous failures. First Takayama, making him remember what Diavolos Avante should be doing, and now Sugita made him realize how despicable he was sounding. _But I can't stop. Yurie would never forgive me if I don't do something to win. I must continue._

_Looks like it'll be only Yurie and me. Sorry Kimiko. I tried to save you._

From what he remembered Sugita had always been somebody who gave great importance to friends, once even saying she'd give her own life to save people she appreciated. In elementary school she had never been one to socialize, in fact Mitsuhiko had been her first friend. Mitsuhiko could still remember how their last meeting before his departure had been.

They had met in her home, in one of her traditional tea parties. He had been living with Sugita's family for a couple years by now since the death of his parents and they had done him the favor to let him live with them. Sugita had been quite a cheerful girl, but in that moment her cheerfulness was gone -"Are you sure about all this, Hikaru-kun? I don't like the sound of this"-

-"I'm fed up with Hope's Peak. I can't continue hunting while I'm a student and it's pissing me off!"-

-"And going to Kyoto will help? There aren't hunting reserves there"-

-"I know what I'm doing! Trust me, Kimiko, besides we can continue being in contact!"-

-"What will my parents say? They're not going to let you go just like that"-

-"I'm not their son; they have no control over me"-

-"They worry about you. Maybe if you explain the situation to them..."-

-"I was told to not to tell anybody about this. It's an important job, I can't just reject it!"-

-"Does Yurie-san know about this?"-

-"She does. Everything will be okay"-

Sugita left her cup down, trying not to cry. –"Promise me you will be safe. I wouldn't forgive myself if anything happened to you...if I could stop you somehow"-

Even if he didn't want to admit it he had his own doubts as well. The person he had talked with had promised he would be safe and that if he was successful with his task he'd be rewarded handsomely...although Mitsuhiko had wondered several times why they had tasked a teenager with the job. –"I'll be fine"-

-"If you're ever in trouble tell me, Hikaru-kun. I'll leave everything and rescue you no matter what happens. You're my best friend!"-

-"You're my best friend too. I promise I'll tell you if anything happens"-

And nothing had happened. Mitsuhiko had gone to Kyoto, he had completed his job and he had been rewarded. Kimiko had been notified and while she had been relieved she had inquired what he had been doing, as she had realized he had never told her. Mitsuhiko never gave a straight answer and that was the end of the matter. The promise of going to rescue him had never been claimed.

And it looked like it never would, judging by how he had been treated just now.

_I stayed outside of Kimiko's bedroom for a while, hoping she'd come out. She didn't._

-ooooo-

While Monobear had reacted to the microphones by taking one to do who knew what despite claiming it was against the rules, Lily had a pretty different reaction. –"Do you people seriously think a few flimsy microphones are going to stop you? A killer will kill even if there are microphones around. Show me which one of you is clever enough!"- she had droned to those who were around once she found one of Takayama's little boxes on the rail of the stairs.

However when Lily thought nobody was seeing her she had gone around, finding microphones and getting rid of them, especially the ones around the bedrooms in Camp Lily. _Maybe she's protecting her creator._

-"Lily, are you really okay with the microphones?"- Mitsuhiko had asked while the little girl had climbed one of the stone statues in Camp Lily, trying to take off the black box on top of the figure's hand. Mitsuhiko did it for her, figuring he may as well help her.

-"If I were okay I wouldn't be taking them away"- Mitsuhiko gave her the microphone, seeing how she crushed it between her fingers –"It's annoying to know somebody is listening to what we say"-

-"But you have pretty much been telling everybody"- Lily had already ranted to at least half of the commanders. Takayama had seemed pleased to how the girl had spread the word about the presence of the microphones. –"A killer would be most likely to kill if they didn't know about them"-

Lily smiled wickedly –"And that's why I'm getting rid of them. People will kill if they know they aren't being listened...kihihihihi..."-

Hearing Lily laugh was pretty unnerving. Her voice sounded so metallic when she laughed it seemed more like cogs in need of a good dose of oil. Weirded out Mitsuhiko receded, trying to not to show the panic he was almost feeling

-ooooo-

It was almost dinner time, once again cooked by Sugita. She had taken the spot of cook between the commanders and everybody was happy for that. Everybody was waiting for dinner to be served, once again forming their little groups, with no change from earlier. The only changes were that Sasuga was in the Kitchen with Sugita and Kobayashi was with Emiko. Yurie had attempted to approach but he had limited himself to give her a piece of paper with just a few words written. 'Meet me in the Administrative Offices at 10 PM'.

Mitsuhiko noticed there was somebody who once again was alone, watching everybody with a scowl. The hunter approached, thinking quickly the advantages of targeting Mitsuishi. He was pretty much the most disliked commander, nobody would object if he died. Besides the more isolated he felt the quicker he'd attack somebody. –"Why so alone, Mitsuishi?"-

-"I'm watching everybody huddle like panicked rats"- Mitsuishi sneered –"We're DeeEy commanders, we should be used to taking care of ourselves and our people. Why would we need to stay together?"-

Mitsuhiko made a gesture of exasperation. –"You want to join them, don't you?"- The Flying Demon blanked his expression, annoyed, but finally admitted.

-"...yes"-

-"Is it self-preservation or is there some other reason?"-

-"Self-preservation"- Mitsuishi replied pretty quickly –"If they see me alone they'll attack me. I can already see it in their eyes, they want to attack me. What have I done for them to want me dead?"- All traces of compassion Mitsuhiko may have felt vanished when the pilot continued –"They're jealous of me. None of them can do the things I do. That's why they want to kill me, because they don't want to admit I have the edge over them"-

-"I don't see how your briiiiiiilliant pilot abilities will help you get into the Main Board"- Mitsuhiko made the sarcasm very clear.

-"That's because you're not intelligent enough. Why don't you try to be like me, somebody who can actually take care of oneself? Or are you going to cling to them and hope for the best?"-

Mitsuhiko couldn't take it anymore. Mitsuishi was insufferable; no wonder nobody could bear to spend a bit of time with him. –"That's why nobody wants to spend not even one minute with you. You belittle everybody but everybody knows you're exactly the same than everybody else"-

-"Don't act innocent, Hikari-kun"- Mitsuishi gritted his teeth –"I heard what you said yesterday when you arrived. If that isn't belittling then I don't know what it is"-

-"But unlike you I know when to contain my own feelings of superiority. Stop being a jackass and maybe we'll try to give you a chance"-

Mitsuishi glared at the hunter but after a moment he looked away, defeated. –"I can't be that bad. There are people worse than me. Admit there are"-

-"And that's another flaw you have. You care too much about what other people do or think. Stop being so goddamn stubborn and admit you're the one who is in the wrong"-

Mitsuishi stood up, pretending to dust down his jacket –"You think about that. I'll take my dinner now"- _That was a waste of time. There's no way Mitsuishi is going to change._

The dinner arrived after a while but the commanders didn't have enough time to enjoy it before Lily and Monobear arrived to ruin the peace. –"I can't believe what I'm seeing! Are you...getting along with each other?"- Monobear asked, practically shouting.

-"Nobody is so anxious to get into the Main Board at the cost of everybody else's lives"- Koshimizu replied calmly.

-"Oh oh oh! That's impossible! Aren't we all murderers, after all? What are a few lives more?"-

-"We're already taking actions to ensure nobody dies"- Takayama said with proudly –"Nothing you or that girl tries to do will make us fail"-

-"I don't need to do anything"- Lily said, taking a dish and flipping it around absentmindedly –"All I have to do is to observe! Sooner or later one of you will break in pieces just like this!"- And so she threw it onto the floor. Unluckily for her the metaphor didn't work at all, as the plate resisted. –"That's not fair!"-

-"You failed, Lily. No surprise. I'll show you how to push people to murder"- Monobear stood on a table, ensuring everybody would see him –"You all think you're smart with your buddy-buddy friendship schoolyard club, but I can see what all of you do when you're alone.

What would you do if I said one or more of you is already planning murder?"-

-"It's them, isn't it?"- Tanaka pointed at Mitsuhiko and Oyama. Apparently she had been briefed about the boasting they had done the day before.

-"Not telling! But you can't trust anybody. Before you know it the person you trust the most...BAM!"- Monobear jumped, startling those nearest to him –"You get stabbed in the back!"-

-"N-No-Nobody would dare, right?"- Kobayashi seemed to be the one most affected by Monobear's words. –"We're all being good"-

-"If you're so sure then sleep with your door opened tonight!"-

-"Yeah, why don't you do that if you're sure nobody will do anything?"- Lily supported Monobear –"I'll give you all a chance: if by tomorrow night nobody has died I'll give all of you a special reward. Let's see if you manage to hold until tomorrow night"- the girl smirked.

-"I'll do the opposite offer! If somebody has died by tomorrow I'll give you a reward! The Main Board spot will only be the beginning compared to my prizes"-

-"You have no hope to win, Monobear"-

-"I'm _beary_ sure they'll take the chance I gave them"- Monobear was exuding confidence. Lily groaned, not wanting to get involved in a petty fight.

-"Whatever"-

-"What kind of reward will it be?"- Hosoya asked. Mitsuhiko turned around. So was Hosoya planning to do something, after all?

-"It's a se-cret! Kill and you'll win it"- Monobear said.

-"What about you, Lily? Got something better than him?"- Lily didn't reply, instead leaving the Cafeteria.

-"Poor Lily, she couldn't bear the pressure. Don't disappointment, everybody! Remember the smiling face in front of you is hiding their claws behind their back!"- and so he disappeared.

Everybody stayed silent during dinner. It was ridiculous to think to take an offer that wasn't even defined what it was. There was no guarantee that Lily or Monobear would even make good to their word, for all they know. Nobody would be so dumb as to risk their own lives for something that may not even be true...

...right?

After dinner Sugita announced that she had prepared some tea. –"It should be here in a moment. Romi-san will bring it"-

-"Are you sure you should have left the blind woman to deal with that?"- Yasumoto inquired.

-"Oh, just because she is blind doesn't mean she can't do something as simple as this. Just watch"-

-"I don't trust her to be okay"- Mitsuhiko stood up –"I'll check on her"- Sugita shot him a dirty look but didn't protest. The hunter walked into the kitchen, where she found Romi in front of the stove with a teapot, waiting for it to boil. She was singing to herself.

_-"...I don't want to be resigned to be the remains of myself / nor blame everybody else / for what's my incumbency and responsibility_...fuck it, that doesn't work"-

-"What are you muttering?"-

Romi turned her head around without the slightest hint of surprise –"It's not something for you to worry about. What do you need?"-

-"Just wondering if you needed help with the tea"- _Attacking a blind woman? It could work, but Yurie wouldn't be happy. Still, a murder is a murder._

-"I don't need any help. I can deal with this by myself"-

-"How do you do that? Aren't you blind?"-

Romi sighed. –"Again, not completely blind. Besides even if I were there are several hints that allow me to live like anybody with a set of intact eyes"- Romi grabbed a spoon and touched the teapot softly, tracing the edge of the circumference with the spoon. –"As the handle had the same color than the teapot and it's too thin I can't see it, but I can find it easily"- The Lyricist Demon grabbed the handle. For a moment Mitsuhiko tried to alert her about not taking the teapot with bare hands, but then he realized she was wearing some thick-looking leather gloves. If he remembered right, she had it since he had seen her the day before.

-"What's up with those gloves?"-

-"They're something I commissioned. There are tiny details in objects I can't see and could hurt my figners, so I use these gloves to avoid any wounds. They severely handicap my touch sense in my hands, but I think it's fair trade"-

Romi took the teapot to the counter and brought out a tray with cups, serving the tea in them. –"I know exactly where to stop, as the tea makes sounds when I'm serving it. It's the same with any liquids"-

-"And to carry the tray? You'll have to keep it in front of you and that'll make you not be able to look onto the floor"-

-"No problem with that"- Romi took the tray with the teacups and started walking –"When there are things in my path I...I feel a strange tingling sensation on my legs. Must be some sort of instinct I acquired after losing my eyesight. I can do anything anybody can do"-

-"I bet you couldn't aim a gun to shoot something"-

-"Nobody likes a smartass, Hikari-kun"-

Much to Mitsuhiko's admiration Romi was able to walk around, taking the teacups and passing them to every commander flawlessly. Once she was done she returned with Mitsuhiko. –"Learned yet to not to underestimate me?"-

-"Yeah..."- It was true. Romi had demonstrated her blindness didn't stop her from living or doing anything. –"I bet your prefecture is in perfect order with your leadership"-

Romi looked away –"It is, but...I can only hope they'll be okay. Do you have any idea if the Main Board will come at some point? I want to talk to them"-

-"Trying to cajole them into giving you the Main Board stop early?"-

-"No"- Romi talked very seriously –"I just came here because I was going to come here either way, to talk with Volkos. I was going to notify him that..."-

-"...that what?"-

-"...that I'll be leaving Diavolos Avante"-

_Wait what_. –"You can't be serious! Why are you leaving?"-

Romi touched her teacup, still not taking a sip. –"I feel unhappy. DeeEy is starting to...make me feel unsatisfied. We have been going in circles for a year already and Veritas hasn't done anything yet"-

-"Give him some time; you don't have to leave yet"-

-"We have been waiting for too long already! Sure, we're expanding, but SHSL Despair continues to be strong and we haven't done not even a dent on them! Where's the progress? When will we stop needing these organizations?"-

-"Someday. Don't worry that much about it"-

Romi spoke sadly. –"I'm a woman who likes peace...I took the spot as commander because I wanted for the world to get better but nothing has progressed...I just want to be able to relax and travel like I used to do before the Despairing incident thing happened..."-

-"Again, that'll happen soon. Veritas is a smart man, he won't let us down. Besides we have the Main Board. They're helping too"-

-"...will we be able to have a simple life, Hikari-kun? That's all I want"-

The truth was that Mitsuhiko didn't know. He was already used to his life as the Hunting Demon. While he dreamed with commanding counties and letting other people take care of nations and the rest he couldn't imagine how it'd be. –"You will, when we're done. Resist. Besides how'll you tell Veritas?"-

-"Well...I got accepted into Delacroix school thanks to my talent as a lyricist. I think it'd be appropriate if my links to DeeEy are severed with a song too. I want to tell Veritas what he's doing wrong and finally...be myself"-

The Hunter was unsure of what to say. He didn't feel the same Romi did so it wasn't like he could give her a tip. The most he could do was to listen. The Lyricist Demon had continued her singing. –" _I don't want to be unable to control my anger/ nor keep carrying in my eyes that sadness..._ yeah, that could work. Doesn't rhyme but phonetically maybe..."-

_Romi and I drank our teas._

-ooooo-

At 10:00 PM Mitsuhiko entered the Administrative Offices, where he found Yurie. The girl was sitting in front of a computer, typing something. Without saying a word Mitsuhiko approached and looked at the screen.

Yurie had created a rudimentary word processor and was typing in it. 'Don't say anything aloud. Just type. Got a target yet?'

Mitsuhiko took the keyboard. 'I do'. Yurie stared at him in silence until it was obvious she was waiting for him to continue. The former SHSL Hunter bit his lip and gave the name. They had an advantage over their future victim; it shouldn't be too hard... 'Amy'

'Is that the codename?'

'I mean Kobayashi-kun. Let's kill him'

Yurie rolled her eyes, annoyed. 'There we go, you once again going with the easy option. I suppose I'll have to accept it. How'll the plan go?'

'We'll call him to a place where we can kill him. I propose we do it here'

'Mitsu-chan and Yurie, in the Administrative Offices...and with what weapon? The gun?'

'My gun. We should hide behind a table or something. Then we put our hands on the gun, we pull the trigger and we're done'

'Simple and to the point. I like that. Tomorrow?'

'Tomorrow. What time?'

Yurie stopped for a moment, mulling the options. '2 PM. After shooting Kobayashi-kun I say we return to our bedrooms instantly. We won't be leaving any evidence besides the bullet and you already said how to deal with the bullet thing. We should be fine'

'It's settled. See you tomorrow at 2 PM'

Yurie closed the file and deleted it, also getting rid of the word processor. The hunter left without looking back, going straight to his bedroom. After verifying he still had bullets in his personal gun and taking out the Twin Beretta he had been carrying around the whole day Mitsuhiko entered into his sleeping bag and fell asleep.

Just before falling asleep he realized that Lily had never said a word to the rest about having gotten rid of the microphones.


	5. Chapter 1: The Flaw in Our Fortress (Ab)normal Days III

Mitsuhiko awoke just after sunrise.

He was sure that at that hour nobody would be awake so he had time to do what he wished now. While he was asleep he noticed there was a point neither Yurie nor him had touched.

How were they going to get Kobayashi to the Administrative Offices?

There was no time to talk to Yurie. Takayama' pesky microphones were quite a bother so talking naturally wasn't an option, and going to the Administrative Offices to type would seem suspicious. Heck, there were even possibilities that Takayama had heard them type the night before. Sure, he wouldn't know who it was, but he wasn't going to take any chances.

_The only way would be a note. If I make it believable enough Kobayashi will follow it without any questions._ With that in mind, he pulled a piece of paper from a generic notebook that was included in the boxes in his bedroom. Biting his tongue he disguised his handwriting as much as possible. 'Kobayashi. We have found very important files about Lily. You're the only one who can answer my questions now. Meet me in the Administrative Offices at 2 PM' –"Terrible. This wouldn't fool even a child"- Mitsuhiko muttered, but he couldn't think of anything better to write. The more copies of the note in existence the more likely they could link it to him.

The hunter opened the door and looked at both sides of the hall. As his bedroom was in the path to the Cafeteria it was likely any hungry commander would see him. Not only that, but also if anybody in Camp Lily stepped into the halls of the second floor they'd see him. _I have only a few seconds. I must hurry._

Walking without making as little noise as possible he jogged to the stairs to the second floor. The Headquarters were impressively silent; the only thing he could hear was his own breathing. When he got to the second floor he listened carefully to try to hear if anybody was awake. No sound emanated from any of the bedrooms, so he got quickly to Kobayashi's bedroom. The day before while Lily had been crushing the microphones he had heard Kobayashi's voice, so he was sure where the bedroom was.

Passing the note under a door wasn't difficult. After having left it in his target's bedroom Mitsuhiko ran to his own bedroom. Breathing heavily the hunter leaned on the door, congratulating himself. The trap had been set; it was just matter of waiting now. Eight hours and half until the murder.

Mitsuhiko stayed in his bedroom until he was able to hear people walking towards the cafeteria. Counting thirteen commanders Mitsuhiko chose to go out now. It was time to test his poker face, nobody would suspect the plan.

When he entered the cafeteria everybody had gathered on mats, stretching and forming curious positions. Kayano was standing in front of everybody else, directing them. -"Hikari-san? You're tardy for the yoga"-

-"I couldn't care less about the yoga"- he replied bluntly. Kayano shrugged and sat on the floor.

-"Now everybody raise your hands, interlocking your fingers. Stretch, stretch all the way"- she demonstrated how to do it. When she stretched Mitsuhiko saw something curious among the commanders doing yoga.

Kayano now wasn't the only one who had strings of pearls. The Dancing Demon now only had one single string, weaving around her arm. There were another three commanders with pears wrapped around their arms, all of the same size and shine than the others. They were Takayama, Yasumoto and Kishio.

Lily was also present in the Cafeteria and much to Mitsuhiko's surprise she had a string of pearls wrapped around her head, laying on her hair horns. –"Why does the hellspawn have pearls?"- the hunter asked to Fukuyama, who was sitting near without taking part of the exercises.

-"Yasumoto-san said it was going to be a peace offer to whoever controls Lily. She doesn't seem to be happy about it, though"- Lily was scowling and pulling at the string with her fingers.

-"Does she really believe some pearls are going to make Lily's creator rethink locking us in here?"-

Fukuyama laughed –"She'd be delusional! But nobody stopped her so...the only conclusion is that nobody really cared about that"-

-"Yasumoto-san is trying really hard to make us get along. It's almost annoying"-

-"Kinda, but you have to admit that thanks to her we're all feeling better than we would without her presence. She has been a positive influence all around"-

Mitsuhiko stared at Fukuyama. -"Why don't you take the stupid mask off?"- Seeing Monobear's face was making him uncomfortable. As far as he knew the actor hadn't taken the mask off not even to eat. Fukuyama touched the mask, scratching the fur.

-"I'd rather not. This mask represents who I am"-

-"A traitor?"-

-"Of course not!"- Mitsuhiko had no idea what Fukuyama's expression was, but his tone was annoyed –"This mask represents my efforts to infiltrate the enemy faction. I stole it from a rioter and adopted his identity, so right now I'm...not myself"-

They stayed in silence until the yoga session was over. The hunter made sure to see Kobayashi's reactions, hoping to see if he had received the note. Kobayashi seemed nervous, almost jittery, while talking with Emiko. Until that moment the illusionist hadn't seemed too affected besides his usual bashful temperament, but now he was barely keeping his panic on check. _Excellent, everything is going like it should go._ The hunter inched nearer, trying to listen.

-"...don't like it not even one bit. You should tell Kishio-san"- Emiko was saying.

-"But what if it's a joke or something? I don't want to cause any problems..."- Kobayashi's attitude didn't fit his words. He was almost fainting.

-"Have you forgotten where we are? These people are cutthroat pirates. We have been lucky to not to have died until now"-

Kobayashi was about to reply when he noticed Mitsuhiko was close to them. Looking at him with suspicion, Emiko and Kobayashi moved to the other side of the Cafeteria, and the hunter didn't try to approach to them again. That had been all the confirmation he needed.

A while after they moved Kobayashi stood up alone, trying to hide in his fist a piece of paper Mitsuhiko supposed was his note. The hunter kept an eye on Kobayashi, hoping his handwriting had been disguised enough in case somebody thought about comparing it. Kobayashi gave the note to Kishio and explained the situation. The Linguist Demon's face contorted into shock with every word, and she replied hurriedly as hushed a possible. Kobayashi pointed at Emiko, at which point Kishio sighed and gestured for him to return to his breakfast.

After Kobayashi returned Kishio walked to Takayama, Yasumoto and Kayano, bringing the note. Their conversation didn't last long, as they fell in silence shortly after that.

Nothing happened during breakfast, but after everyone had eaten their food Kishio stood up, very serious.

-"Attention everybody!"- she said –"There's something I'd like to announce. In an effort to integrate ourselves even further we have planned some fun times for this afternoon. It's obligatory for everybody to be in the Courtyard at noon"-

-"Wat do you mean with 'fun times'"- Sugita requested.

-"There's nothing to define. We're going to use the equipment from the courts, the ones in that shed. We'll plan what sports we'll play, so don't worry about that"-

-"It's kind of sudden, isn't it? You never seemed the kind to encourage sports, Kishio-sensei"- Mimori raised her eyebrows.

-"It's just more efforts to try to create bonds, nothing strange, _seamos amigos_ "-

-"Aha, whatever. At what time?"- Mimori took out her notepad and waited for the time.

-"1:30 PM. Everybody must be outside. We won't accept anybody staying inside. Have I made myself clear?"- Kishio had started to have a pulsing vein on her forehead.

Mitsuhiko frowned. This was obviously in response to the note he had written. Yurie surely would be outraged him if what he did ruined the plan. Now he had to think a way to keep himself and Yurie inside or...sneak back onto the Headquarters after going inside. He preferred the first option.

Yurie looked through the Cafeteria with obvious exasperation. It was clear what she meant. 'We need to talk'.

-ooooo-

-"Do you know anything about Kishio-sensei's sudden decision?"- Yurie asked, crossing her arms.

They had reunited in Yurie's bedroom. They were more or less sure Takayama hadn't planned a microphone there, but they could never be too careful. Besides since the note mentioned the Administrative Offices it was possible somebody would keep an eye there. Seeing how Mitsuhiko didn't reply, Yurie continued. –"It can't be a coincidence they made it so close to 2 PM. Did you do something suspicious, Mitsuhiko?"-

Uh oh. She had used the name instead of the sappy nickname. Bad sign.-"Uh, I saw Amy with a note...and he showed it to Kishio-sensei"-

That was all Yurie needed to hear to understand the situation. She sighed, resigned. –"I suppose I should have thought about that. It sure was an oversight"-

-"You don't seem angry"- Mitsuhiko was relieved.

-"I'm not. That was my mistake too. So, in or out?"-

Mitsuhiko had to take a few seconds to understand what she meant. –"In. What I don't know yet is how to do it"-

Yurie didn't seem too bothered. She smiled and indicated Mitsuhiko to wait for a moment, and then she exited the classroom. The hunter waited for a few minutes, not sure what Yurie was trying to do, until she returned.-"What the...?"-

-"I didn't need to be carried"- Monobear said. Yurie had Monobear against her chest, carrying him as if he were the toy teddy bear he seemed.

-"As if you would have accepted"- she said, leaving him on the floor –"We need to ask a favor"-

-"Do you know about the microphones, Monobear?"- Mitsuhiko asked. If the bear could confirm there were no microphones in the classroom they'd be able to talk freely.

-"Upupupu...the microphones? I'm using them right now. They were very easy to hijack, but Takayama-kun can still hear through them"-

-"So you mean..."-

-"I can hear everything you bastards do, that's what it means!"-

_Thank you so much, Takayama. You provided Monobear another way to spy us._ Mitsuhiko thought, annoyed. –"Okay, we need a favor. You need to make everybody else think we're outside at 2:00 PM. Say we're outside. Will you do it?"- If they got all subtle chances are Monobear wouldn't accept or wouldn't resist messing with them. It was going to be necessary to accept the risk and go to the point.

Monobear thought for a moment –"You're asking me to be an accomplice in your murder plan?"-

-"Exactly"- Yurie added –"You wouldn't refuse doing anything if it meant kickstarting your little mutual killing game. Am I guessing right?"-

-"Daring, daring...I should refuse buuuut...it's tempting"-

-"We'll do a perfect crime with your help. The game will be over in a few hours and Yurie and I will be the winners. It's simple"-

Monobear snickered. –"Okay, I'll do it, but if you two get caught I'll add extra details to your executions"-

-"Whatever, we'll take the risk"- Yurie said quickly –"Thank you so much, Monobear. You won't be disappointed"-

-"I better start preparing the execution machines and the morgue"- the bear said, leaving the classroom. Yurie sighed, pinching her nose.

-"I hate that bear. So it's settled, Mitsu-chan. See you when it's time"-

Mitsuhiko exited Yurie's bedroom, feeling uncomfortable with including Monobear in the plan. If there was anybody likely to betray it was him, but it was too late to change it. They'd have to endure having such a dangerous accomplice.

Feeling a bit hungry Mitsuhiko decided to go to the Cafeteria, but when he was about to open the door he heard voices inside. Opening the door just enough to see what was going on, the hunter peered in.

Takayama, Yasumoto, Kayano and Kishio were sitting near the door. Everyone except Kayano were standing up with furious expressions, while the Dancing Demon simply looked into a silk bag she had with her.

-"...only ten pearls left. Those strings I made for you sapped my provisions"-

-"Is that all you care? The fucking pearls?"- Takayama shouted –"Yasumoto-san is going to get in middle of a murder plan and you can only think about your little gems?"-

-"I don't think she's in peril. Unlike you two I trust her to do this correctly"-

-"Thank you, Kayano-san"- Yasumoto smiled but that didn't relax her expression at all. Kishio facepalmed, gritting her teeth.

-"We can't let you go do that, Yasumoto-san. Whoever the murderer is going to be obviously is unhinged enough to try to kill. You're going to be another target besides Kobayashi-kun"-

-"At least let me go with you, Yasumoto-san! I'm a bodyguard, it's my responsibility"- Takayama argued. Yasumoto punched the table.

-"I'm fucking tired of repeating it! I have told you several times that I must go alone, having more people would only intimidate them unnecessarily"-

-"We need to intimidate! They're killers! You think you're such a wonder psychologist but everybody knows you're not as good as you think you are"-

Yasumoto gasped. –"Take that back, Takayama-kun"- Takayama grinned nastily and said with the most obvious venom in his voice.

-"If you were so good you would have studied on Hope's Peak, not in here. You're the same than all us, mediocre and filled with flaws"-

-"My talents emerged a bit later, it doesn't matter now! Stop bringing that up!"-

-"Kishio-sensei, if you let me suggest something..."- Kayano put away her silk pouch –"I say we let Yasumoto-san do this. She has showed some good judgment and her actions to unite us have been admirable. We should give her some trust"- Kishio massaged her temples while Takayama and Yasumoto argued, until she decided to put an end to everything.

-" _Tatesate hkyinn_!"- she screamed. Takayama and Yasumoto stopped, as despite it being in a different language the tone made it clear what she meant. 'Silence!' –"I have taken my decision. We're going to let Yasumoto-san do what she thinks best"-

-"They're going to kill her. I'm not going to stand here and let her die"-

-"I know how to dissuade them from hurting anybody, Takayama-kun. Please, I beg you, trust me on this"- Yasumoto said tiredly.

-"Okay, okay"- Takayama surrendered –"I'll stay away. At least let me listen through the microphones"- Yasumoto looked at Kishio, who understood the objection.

-"I don't think she'd like that. Stop!"- she interrupted Takayama before he could say anything else –"I think we know how that'd go. At the slightest hint of danger you'd run to 'save her', even if you know you're quite paranoid. You won't restrain yourself, so it's better if you stay away in all ways possible"-

-"...then what am I supposed to do? Stand aside while they kill her?"-

-"We'll watch everybody outside so nobody enters, that's what we'll do"- Kishio answered –"We'll be able to spot easily who enters the Headquarters to attempt to murder Kobayashi-kun. Does that help calm you?"-

-"...I suppose"- Takayama obviously wasn't happy with that, either, but arguing any further was useless.

-"Are we quite finished here?"- Kayano stood up, stretching –"I want to my room. It's cloudy today, isn't it?"-

-"Very. It's pretty dark in the halls"- Kishio said, going towards the door –"There are also some bad lights. The hall in Camp Lily is creepy without the lights working; I can only imagine how other places look like..."-

Mitsuhiko couldn't hear anything else since he had to run away. They were going out of the Cafeteria, he would have been found out if he had stayed. Still, it had been revealing. So Yasumoto and Kobayashi were the only ones to be in the Headquarters at 2 PM? That'd make everything easier; supposing they could do it fast enough before Yasumoto could intervene.

-ooooo-

When it was fifteen minutes before 2 PM Yurie and Mitsuhiko met in the long hallway towards the Administrative Offices. The hunter and the hacker had hidden in the Theater while Kishio gathered everybody to go outside. Unfortunately when Mitsuhiko thought it was over he found that Kishio was still in the Lobby with the fountain, talking with Monobear. –"Seriously, where are they?"-

-"I saw them going outside a while ago. You should look for them behind the shed, surely they're getting their jollies on"- Monobear replied casually as if it had been something natural to say. Mitsuhiko groaned as silently as possible, it was obvious they were talking about Yurie and him. _That could have gone better, Monobear._

Kishio narrowed her eyes. –"Lily! Lily, come here!"- The girl came out of the Monobear Camp. –"Lily, please watch this door and don't let anybody come in. Will you?"-

-"I can't. Directive #5: Aiding any commander in suspicious activities is completely forbidden"- Lily shrugged, eyeing the pearls on Kishio's arm.

-"And what'll I do?"- Monobear asked.

-"You go die in a hole. I'm out. Thank you for nothing, Lily"- and she closed the doors. Monobear and Lily were alone, or so they thought, so the bear decided to take the chance to force Lily to reply something

-"You! Why do you keep destroying the microphones? "-

-"They're no good"- Lily replied, smiling –"You shouldn't spy people in such obvious ways, little bear. You make it very easy to counter you"-

-"I have aces in my non-existent sleeves. Are you sure you crushed all the microphones around your creator?"-

Lily made her smile even wider –"Kihihihi...I crushed the ones I needed...and then some more to distract you. You won't find out who my creator is from the disposed microphones, Monobear"-

Monobear's eyes glowed red before leaving. Lily smugly ascended the stairs towards Camp Lily, satisfied with how she had frustrated the bear's attempts to find out who had created and brought her. –"I saw her getting rid of microphones in the Monobear Camp. Think her creator is there?"-

Mitsuhiko jumped, startled. It was Yurie, who had approached behind him without him knowing. –"No, I saw her in Camp Lily too. We can't pinpoint where her creator is"-

-"That sucks. Well, let's go. It's almost 1:50 PM"- Mitsuhiko made sure his gun was loaded and quickly ran to the Administrative Offices. They only had a few minutes before Kobayashi arrived, but it wasn't like they needed a lot of preparations. They just moved a table, moved some computers there to hide and made sure whoever entered would see a screen turned on near the furthest wall of the room. That'd make Kobayashi focus there and wouldn't notice their presence or the gun. Once their hiding point was ready it was just time to wait.

Mitsuhiko's clock showed it was 2:03 PM when Kobayashi entered. His eyes noticed the bright screen and immediately moved towards it, hoping to find whatever the note had indicated he'd see. Mitsuhiko and Yurie held the gun over the table, making sure it was aiming towards their victim. Kobayashi was busy messing around with the computer, trying to find the information. The gun was aiming to his back, to where Mitsuhiko was positive the bullet would pierce his heart. Mitsuhiko was the one supporting the gun the most but had one hand on the trigger, while Yurie only touched the trigger. The plan was to pull it at the same time, turning them both into the culprits. It was going to be as simple as that. Yurie raised three fingers and lowered one every second.

Time seemed to go horribly slow to Mitsuhiko. He remembered everything that had happened during those two days. Their arrival, Kishio and Yasumoto's efforts to make everyone bond with each other, Takayama's reinforcement of what Diavolos Avante's objective was, the contradicting yet almost identical behaviors Monobear and Lily had, Sugita's rage and denial about killing anyone and finally...how less commanders than he thought had wanted to reach the spot in the Main Board.

Maybe there were better ways to ensure their victory, some way that didn't make everybody die. Diavolos Avante would have a serious loss if there were all those deaths, their progress would be impaired. It was counterproductive for their goals. Why was the Main Board pushing for deaths, then? Why had Lily planned a game of mutual killing too?

...could it be that there was something going on...something he had missed? Was he being played for a fool, were everybody part of a bigger plan and they didn't even know it...?

The moment arrived and Mitsuhiko made a decision. Days later he'd find out that split-second decision had saved not only the commanders but also everybody in Diavolos Avante and later the world. If he had continued the plan without any problems then it would have been ensured the despair would never end.

He aimed the gun just a few millimeters to the right.

The shot was deafening. Mitsuhiko was used to it, but Yurie felt her ears ringing. The bullet soared through the air before Kobayashi could react and impacted against his right arm. The magician doubled in pain, screaming. –"Get out of here!"- Yurie whispered and started running. Kobayashi, too focused on his own pain and kneeling in front on the computer, didn't hear anything. Mitsuhiko took the chance to run. As he was more used to run thanks to his profession he reached Yurie quickly before she even got to half of the hall. Both commanders ran towards the Lobby. –"What the hell? Why didn't he die? You aimed wrongly, moron!" she chastised while running.

-"M-My-M-M-My bad"- Mitsuhiko stammered. He himself was wondering why he had done it, not fully sure of why, but those thoughts vanished as soon as they arrived to the Lobby.

Three things happened at the same time. The first one was that Yurie screamed. The second one was that an announcement sounded as soon as they stepped into the lobby. 'A body has been found! Everybody gather in the Lobby!' The hunter recognized subconsciously Monobear's voice.

The third one was that they saw the dead body itself. –"...it really happened..."- Mitsuhiko said in disbelief.

Near the fountain, with her cheek against the floor and with the head towards the stairs they could see the soaking wet corpse. They couldn't see her face, but the hair and the clothes were enough clues to know the identity of that person.

Chiyo Yasumoto had been murdered.

The front doors opened and everybody rushed in, seeing Mitsuhiko and Yurie standing in shock, with a smoking gun in the hunter's hand. There were gasps and immediate demands for explanations. Also Kobayashi stumbled upon the Lobby clutching his bleeding arm and sobbing pitifully.

_...well, fuck._

**Chapter 1: The Flaw in Our Fortress**

**(Ab)normal Days**

**END**


	6. Chapter 1: The Flaw in Our Fortress Abnormal Days I

The commanders murmured between them, looking at Mitsuhiko, the gun and the dead body. The hunter quickly put it in his pocket, raising his hands to show his palms –"I-I didn't do this"-

-"We found you with that gun near a dead body. One doesn't need to be a genius to know what happened!"- Fukuyama said, barely audible.

-"He didn't do it! We were together the whole time, it's impossible neither of us did it"- Yurie objected. While they argued Mitsuhiko's possible guilt Takayama, shaking, stepped towards the fountain, always looking at Yasumoto's dead body.

-"I told her...I told her she'd die...she was an idiot for not accepting..."-

-"Takayama-kun, are you okay?"- Hikari-ku approached. The bodyguard was pale, his eyes were glassy. Seeing the Mind Demon's dead body was causing quite a reaction on him, which was strange. Mitsuhiko knew Takayama was routinely surrounded by dead bodies, some of them people who dared to attack his subordinates.

-"I should have stayed with her. She wouldn't have died if I had been listening"- Takayama didn't notice who had asked him that question. He sat on the stairs without taking his eyes off the body. Koshimizu crouched to a side of the corpse, delicately turning Yasumoto around.

Yasumoto had her eyes wide open in an expression of surprise and pain. Koshimizu took out a handkerchief and covered her face, frowning. –"There's something..."-

-"Already touching the body? You work fast!"- Monobear had appeared on top of the stairs towards Camp Lily. The little girl was standing in Camp Monobear, looking disapprovingly at the commanders –"It was about time somebody died, I was starting to get impatient. Yasumoto-san thought she could make you all friends and see how she ended! The only option is despair!"-

-"I was starting to believe all of you'd be able to resist killing anybody"- Lily sighed –"Looks like your ugly natures are stronger than she thought"-

-"Blah blah blah, you're disappointed and nobody cares. Moving on!"- Monobear took out what seemed like envelopes –"I have written here a bit of information about the murder. I call it the Monobear File! I'll now accept tributes in the form of shameless gushing and grilled salmon"- the bear gave to everyone an envelope.

-"An envelope?"- Kobayashi had stopped weeping, although he clearly still was in pain, clutching his wounded arm. Monobear threw the illusionist's file to the floor.

-"I expected something with more technology"- Romi crumpled his envelope, it not being useful to her in any way –"What does it say, Hosoya-kun?"- Hosoya whispered to Romi the content of the file. Knowing it was going to be necessary to take a look, Mitsuhiko opened it and extracted the file itself.

**Monobear File #1**

_Victim: Chiyo Yasumoto, codename: Belial_

_Cause of Death: Bludgeoned to death with a blunt object._

_Location of the Body: Headquarters Lobby_

_Time of Death: 1:55 PM_

_No chemical substances, drugs or anything similar was used during the murder in any way._

-"You mean she wasn't shot?"- Emiko gasped. Takayama raised his head and picked up his envelope, having ignored it. When he read that no bullet had taken Yasumoto's life he sprinted towards his bedroom.

-"If I say she wasn't shot then she wasn't shot. My word is final!"- Monobear replied, going away –"I'll tell you all through the speakers when it's time for the trial. Until then good luck, bastards!"-

-"I confirm the file is...accurate and misleading at the same time. Lily, come here"- Koshimizu gestured Lily to approach and gave him some instructions. The girl listened and nodded, then one of her horns opened like it had done in the Meeting Room in the first day. She projected an image of Yasumoto's dead body so everybody could see what Koshimizu was going to say. The detail Lily projected was astonishing, so nobody needed to approach the corpse itself. –"She did die because she was bludgeoned but I think the term 'savage beating' would be more accurate"-

"Was she hit more than once?"- Kayano asked. Everybody was going to do their best efforts into the investigation. They were Diavolos Avante commanders! They weren't going to let one of them have the edge over the rest.

Koshimizu talked with a very professional tone, he seemed at ease with the dead body -"I'd say he was hit three times, judging by the wounds and contusions. If I had to guess..."- he lifted Yasumoto's clothes, exposing her abdomen –"...she was hit first here"- Lily's projection showed a long and wide bruise, crossing her body –"I bet this would cause severe internal hemorrhage, but I can't confirm it without a real autopsy. Supposing she got doubled over after the hit then she was hit here"- the projection moved to Yasumoto's face. Now that the girl was showing the dead body in detail to everybody they could see how her mouth was filled with blood. Koshimizu parted her lips –"One tooth is missing"-

**Missing Tooth**

_One of Yasumoto's teeth was dislodged and knocked down. It doesn't seem to be where the body was found_

-"Maybe it's around here"- Sasuga started crawling around, looking for the tooth –"But it's curious there isn't any blood around here!"-

-"You do that"- Koshimizu grabbed Yasumoto's head and showed the scalp –"And this is the fatal blow. She got hit here on the frontal lobe. The deed was done"-

-"I saw something"- Hosoya crouched to Koshimizu's side, looking closely at Yasumoto's arms –"What is this?"- he pointed to what he had seen. Koshimizu grinned.

-"Good eye, kid. I like efficiency, well done. These seem to be shallow cuts"- Koshimizu raised the arm, Lily peered closer and projected the cut to everybody else –"Very, very thin cuts, like one fifth of a millimeter"-

-"They're on the other arm too, at the same height than the other arm!"- Sugita showed –"But there's no blood!"-

-"...you're right about that. Maybe they were done after she died, but why...?"-

**Shallow Cuts**

_Cuts present in Yasumoto's arms, at the same height. One fifth of a millimeter thick. Possibly done after her death._

-"That's all we can see in the body"- Koshimizu stood up, cleaning the blood from his hands.

-"Since she died from getting hit with something does that mean we're cleared from suspicion?"- Yurie inquired coldly. Everybody glared at her and Mitsuhiko, as if they wanted to hang them right there.

-"They can't have been killed with the butt of a gun, right?"- Sugita stood up too. Koshimizu shook his head, carefully taking Kobayashi's arm to examine it.

-"Let's go to the Infirmary, kid. I'll get you fixed in no time"- the Medical Demon and Kobayashi walked away towards the Infirmary, leaving the rest alone.

-"...that doesn't make them innocent"- Emiko muttered, starting to inch towards her bedroom via the stairs.

-"But we can't have. At the time of the murder we were..."- Mitsuhiko stopped, looking at Yurie, who simply shrugged –"...we were hiding in the Administrative Offices getting ready to kill Amy"-

-"Oh, come on! There aren't a lot of options here"- Kayano counted with her fingers –"The rest of us were outside. Those two are the only ones who could have done it. They already tried to kill Kobayashi-kun, that should be a big hint they'd be capable of doing it"-

-"But why would they try to murder Kobayashi-kun if they had killed Yasumoto-san?"- Romi inquired. Kayano mused that but couldn't find a good answer for that question.

-"Couldn't they have killed Yasumoto-san after they failed to shoot Kobayashi-kun?"- Emiko said from the second floor. She had already ascended and was going towards the right side of the hall.

-"But when we found the body the announcement sounded! We wouldn't have time to kill her!"-

-"I bet you told Monobear to make the announcement after killing her"- Fukuyama clutched his hands –"Kishio-san said he had covered for you two"-

-"I said he had mentioned them, not that he had..."- Kishio's words were interrupted by a scream coming from the second floor. All heads turned around, it had been Emiko. Kayano, Sasuga, Romi, Mitsuishi and Mitsuhiko ran upwards, until they found Emiko leaning towards a statue with a gesture of surprise. When the commanders got to her she pointed towards the far end of the hall, where they could see a long object laying on the floor. –"What happened?" Mitsuishi asked to Emiko while Sasuga walked and took the object.

-"I had opened my door and then I saw something over there. I approached but when I saw it was stained with blood I screamed"-

-"You let yourself be scared by a bit of blood? Have you got no guts?"- Mitsuishi chastised with an amused grin on his face. Emiko entered her bedroom, running away from the jeering aviator.

-"It's true, it has blood"- Sasuga lifted the object. It was a baseball bat –"Undoubtedly the crime weapon!"-

**Baseball Bat**

_An aluminum baseball bat, stained with blood. Very likely to be the weapon used to bludgeon Yasumoto. Found in the right end of Camp Lily._

-"I think this helps to clear those two"- Romi said, having just arrived. She had tripped on the stairs but now that she had arrived she had stuff to say in Mitsuhiko's defense –"When we entered we all saw them in front of the hallway towards the Administrative Offices, and that's pretty far from here"-

Everybody started to descend the stairs except Romi, who insisted on staying on Camp Lily. Mitsuishi informed those who had stayed downstairs of the baseball bat. –"But then who killed her?"- Sugita wondered

-"I'll tell you who!"- Takayama had come out of the Monobear Camp, but after saying those words he ran into the hallway and towards the Infirmary. The commanders followed him out of curiosity, the bodyguard entering the Infirmary by kicking the door.

Koshimizu, who at that point had been securing Kobayashi's now-bandaged arm so he wouldn't be able to move it, turned towards the door. –"What's the meaning of this?"-

-"I know how the murder went. He did it!"- Takayama pointed at Kobayashi –"He killed her!"-

Kobayashi was at loss of words –"What? Me?"-

-"I know very well it was you. It's the only solution there is!"-

-"Are you completely sure about this?"- Koshimizu asked gravely. Takayama nodded vehemently, at which point Koshimizu approached Kobayashi and in one swift move he yanked off the cloth cast, causing Kobayashi's arm to move down. The illusionist cried out in protest, clutching his arm.

-"Until you're cleared of all suspicion I'm not going to help you with anything. Tough luck"-

-"It hurts!"- Kobayashi bit down his tears of pain.

-"I don't give a flying fuck if it hurts"- Koshimizu said, placing the cast in a drawer –"If there's something I can't tolerate are traitors. It's the only law Diavolos Avante has, why are people starting to break it now..."- and he went away, grumbling. Other commanders walked away to investigate in their own ways, leaving just a few in the Infirmary. _Note to myself: don't get hurt or sick from now until I'm far from that guy. I won't get any help from him now, I bet._

-"Will you be okay?"- Yurie asked, entering and approaching Kobayashi. Kobayashi practically tripped with his own feet when the hacker came closer to him.

-"Don't touch me!"-

-"While her concern may be fake mine is genuine"- Kayano piped from the entrance –"Does it sting too much?"-

-"I'll resist. It's just...a bullet wound"- Kobayashi grunted, standing up. –"I have to go clear my name. I can't sit here and let everybody think I did it"- Kayano ignored the illusionist and took out the cast from the drawer. She immobilized the arm again, making Kobayashi hold it against his chest. Kobayashi dried the pain tears, thankful for that.

-"Don't let him guile you into helping him to hide evidence, Kayano-san"- Takayama said bluntly –"You know what, I'll keep an eye on him. He won't do any funny business if I can stop him"- Takayama grabbed Kobayashi's shoulder, digging with his fingers onto the bone, and led him out.

_Well this sure is a mess. I should start investigating now._

Mitsuhiko returned to the lobby to see if he could find anything near where the body was found. It was actually strange that there was no blood on the floor; it was possible she hadn't died there. A quick examination of the floor in the lobby showed it was likely, leaving aside where the body had been found there was no blood at all. The tooth was also nowhere to be found.

_So I need to find where she was murdered_. Mitsuhiko sat on the edge of the fountain. _The body's head had been pointing towards the stairs, so it must have happened in one of the halls, right? But I saw no blood when Yurie and I were running, so the murder must have happened in the Monobear Camp._ Satisfied with his deduction Mitsuhiko stood up to go towards the Monobear Camp, sneering at the crude banner that marked the place.

However when he was going to go he looked behind him. Eh? The stale water in the fountain was...different now. Mitsuhiko couldn't say it with certainty, but when Yurie and him had crossed the Lobby to go to the Administrative Offices the stale water in the fountain was transparent, showing the stone material in the bottom of the decorative object.

But now the water...seemed murkier, somehow. Dirtier.

**Water in the Fountain**

_The water in the bottom of the fountain got dirtier in the span between Mitsuhiko and Yurie passing through the Lobby towards the Administrative Offices and the moment the corpse was found. It may not be correct._

A sudden noise in the second floor got Mitsuhiko's attention. When he looked to where the noise had come from he saw Takayama standing on the second floor, looking angrily towards the left end of the hall. That seemed like a good moment to find out something he wanted to know. –"Takayama-kun, down here"-

The bodyguard turned his head around –"What?"-

-"Why do you suspect Amy?"-

Takayama took off his glasses, polishing them. –"I'll save time and show you directly. Come with me, Kobayashi"- Takayama didn't grab Kobayashi, but the illusionist meekly followed him. Soon they got to Takayama's bedroom, where he opened the door.

–"Woah..."- Mitsuhiko was amazed. On the desk of the classroom that was now turned into Takayama's bedroom there was now a machine with headphones, it looked like a modified computer –"Where did you get that from?"-

-"I took a computer and headphones from the Administrative Offices, but that's not what I want to show you. Kobayashi, go to that corner and wait there"- Kobayashi was led into the farthest corner of the classroom, like a naughty child. Takayama sat in front of the machine and typed for a moment, putting the speakers loud –"These are recordings made with the microphones I put the other day. Listen to this"- The software showed a time. 1:53 PM.

In the recording Mitsuhiko could hear steps, there was one person walking towards the microphone. A door was knocked and opened in just seconds. 'I'll go check now, Kobayashi-kun. Stay here until I come back' The door was closed

-"That is Yasumoto-san, right?"- Mitsuhiko inquired. Takayama grimaced.

-"I can't say it with certainty. All we know is that it's a female voice, but the pitch and tone does sound like Yasumoto-san"-

The recording continued. They heard Yasumoto (?) taking some steps before a new sound happened: the sound of a door opening. Yasumoto didn't stop, but the person who had opened the door ran.

A horrible noise happened after that. Mitsuhiko never thought that was how a baseball bat sounded with it collided with a human body, although he couldn't be sure it was that. However the noise repeated again. 'W-What ath u..."- Yasumoto managed to blurt before she was interrupted by a third noise. Then it sounded like Yasumoto's body fell onto the floor.

Takayama stopped the recording. –"That's how it goes. Basically Yasumoto-san went and warned Kobayashi-kun, she was going to check the whole note thing. She walked a bit, then Kobayashi stepped out of his bedroom and killed her with some sort of blunt object"-

That wasn't a bad theory. It did have some sense. –"How do you know she had gone to warn Amy about this?"-

-"She discussed it with us. If it had been up to me I would have tied you and dragged you away to the courtyard shed, but she insisted to leave it up to her. She said she was going to convince you to stop the plan, but Kobayashi-kun killed her first"-

-"And why would he do that?" That was what Mitsuhiko didn't fully understand yet.

-"I have no idea, but what matters is that she died. Also, as soon as the trial is over you two are going to be under my mercy. I guarantee it"- In that moment Kobayashi ran from the corner and towards the door, going away. –"Hey you! Stop!"- the bodyguard exclaimed before running behind him. Mitsuhiko thought for a moment. There was something bothering him. Had the recording stopped there or had Takayama simply stopped it? Wouldn't he be able to hear how the body was dragged to the Lobby from Camp Lily?

Pressing the button to continue Mitsuhiko listened carefully. Effectively, it sounded like something heavy was being dragged across the floor. _That must have been the body. The crime scene really must have been the Camp Lily hallway in the second floor._ Then there were several minutes of silence. When Mitsuhiko was about to leave something happened in the recording that made him stop.

There were steps again. Somebody was approaching. Mitsuhiko held his breath, waiting to hear what was going on. The person in the hall stopped and knocked on a door. Before it could be opened the person said loudly. "Don't open! Just listen. Count to fifteen before coming out. It's safe, there's no danger for you"

_That voice_... It was a female voice, apparently. It seemed like it was doing an effort to sound identical to Yasumoto's voice, or at least to the first voice in the recording, but the strain was obvious. The person ran away and the last sound in the recording was a door opening, even if Mitsuhiko continued listening for several minutes more. The hunter smiled to himself. That recording was perfect evidence that Kobayashi was innocent of the crime.

Mitsuhiko disliked the newbie commander, but his own life was in danger. He couldn't let Kobayashi be blamed for a crime he didn't commit.

**Recording #1**

_A recording of the moment of the crime. Yasumoto (?) knocked to Kobayashi's door. A door (Kobayashi's?) was opened. A person ran and killed Yasumoto from three blows with a weapon (baseball bat?)._

**Recording #2**

_A recording of what happened several minutes after the crime. A person knocked on Kobayashi's door (?) and said 'Don't open! Just listen. Count to fifteen before coming out. It's safe, there's no danger for you', then ran away. A door opened shortly after that._

Remembering that Takayama had said he had gotten his equipment from the Administrative Office he went there to see if he could find something to play the recordings in the trial. He managed to find what he was looking for, ignoring Kobayashi's blood, and decided it was time to check the supposed real crime scene.

When he arrived to the crime scene he found Romi, Takayama and Kobayashi. Kobayashi was crawling awkwardly around with his good arm, looking at the floor intently while Takayama always stayed a step behind him, looking at him with hate. Romi was walking up and down the hallway, staring at the stone statues lining the walls. –"What are you lot doing?"- Mitsuhiko asked.

-"I'm trying to find evidence to prove myself innocent"- Kobayashi answered without stopping his crawling. Takayama coughed and said something that sounded like 'getting rid of proof'.

Romi closed her eyes, deep in thought. –"I feel there's something missing around here but I haven't pinpointed what it is"-

-"Keep looking"- Mitsuhiko said dismissively. The blind woman finding something? What were the chances? Instead he went to the obvious clue in middle of the hall.

The puddle of fresh blood.

**Blood in the Hallway**

_A puddle of fresh blood in Camp Lily, on the left side of the hall. Located between the third and fourth classroom._

-"So she was killed here"- Mitsuhiko stated.

-"Most likely"- Takayama replied –"My microphone supports it. If you see over there on the wall you'll see it"- the bodyguard pointed at a point on the wall. When Mitsuhiko approached he saw a black cube glued on the wall. –"Somebody took off the microphones I had planted in the right side of the hall, so I have no sound about the moment the baseball bat was left over there"-

_I see._ Mitsuhiko pointed at the doors in the left side of the hallway. –"Who does these classrooms belong to?"-

-"Hmmmmm..."- Takayama thought for a moment but couldn't remember. Romi, however, was the one who answered.

-"The room farthest away is Kobayashi-kun's. Then it's Kishio-sensei's, then the courier's, and finally Mimori's"-

-"Huh. Thank you"-

_Supposing Kobayashi-kun was in his room then either Kishio-sensei's room or Tanaka-san's room was where the culprit was hiding_. –"Both Kishio-sensei and Tanaka-san knew about what was going on. Weren't you all outside?"-

Takayama frowned, still furious with himself for letting Yasumoto convince him to go outside. –"Yes. The only people inside the building were you, Oyama-san, Kobayashi-kun and Yasumoto-san. That's even more proof against this asshole"- Mitssuhiko shook his head. So Takayama continued insisting the newbie was the murderer. Crouching to the side of Kobayashi Mitsuhiko went directly to the point.

-"You surely don't want to have me near, but you need to help us all. If you're innocent then we need to demonstrate it or we'll die"- Takayama laughed bitterly, but didn't say anything. Ignoring him Mitsuhiko was going to prod Kobayashi more, but the illusionist looked at him straight to the eyes.

-"I know that very well! I may be a new commander but I understand how bad this situation is. Ask"-

-"What did you do up to fifteen minutes before the body was found?"- Kobayashi sat, dusting his pants.

-"Yasumoto-san had told me to stay in my room and stay there until she told me if it was safe to go to the offices"- Kobayashi unconsciously touched his arm bullet wound, wincing –"A few minutes before 2 PM she went to my door. We talked for a moment and after a while she returned, saying it was safe for me to go"-

-"Did you notice something odd in her voice at that second time?"-

-"No, I don't think so. I was too anxious, I don't know"- Kobayashi started shaking. He was kind of pale, although he had stopped bleeding already. He started shaking –"B-But I saw nothing strange when I got to the lobby and passed through. There was no body! So that must really have been Yasumoto-san, right?"- Mitsuhiko raised his eyebrows. _So he didn't see the body?_

**Kobayashi's Testimony**

_Kobayashi confirms the content of the first and second recordings, regarding the female voice he listened. He can't confirm if both voices belonged to Yasumoto. When he went through the lobby the body wasn't there._

After Kobayashi was done with his testimony he continued searching. A few seconds later he gave a triumphant scream, holding an object high in the air. –"I found evidence! Something!"- Takayama, Mitsuhiko and Romi approached with curiosity, trying to see what it was. Kobayashi lowered his hand and opened it, displaying the proof he had found.

It was a pearl. –"Ah? How does this clear you, Kobayashi-kun?"- Mitsuhiko asked.

-"I'm not saying it clears me, but I'm confident this pearl may turn the case around. This single object has reduced the suspects. Listen:

Kayano-san made strings of pearls for the others who were leading us, which are Kishio-sensei, Takayama-kun and Yasumoto-san. If any of them doesn't have their string it'd make them suspicious. Ooooor...if all of them have the strings then this pearl must have come from Kayano-san's pouch"-

-"That's logical!"- Romi approved –"That was a good find, after all!"-

-"I still have my string here"- Takayama extended his arm so they could see it –"Each string has ten pearls. Count them"- Mitsuhiko did it, confirming Takayama's string was complete –"Maybe it came from Yasumoto-san's string"- The group descended to where the body was found and Mitsuhiko counted the pearls.

-"Ten here"-

-"We need to find and Kayano-san"- Romi said –"You three do it, I'm busy"- and so she ascended back to Camp Lily.

Takayama dragged Kobayashi away, looking for the two females. Before leaving Takayama rotated the pearl in his fingers and remarked something curious. –"This pearl is from a string. It has these holes where the nylon thread would be inserted"-

**Pearl**

_A pearl found in Camp Lily near where Yasumoto was killed. Has two tiny holes for the thread_

While Takayama and Kobayashi went to look for Kayano and Kishio Mitsuhiko returned to Camp Lily. There was something bothering him about the pearl and what Romi was doing. He examined the place where Kobayashi had found it. It was near the wall, not hidden. How did the culprit miss it? Could it have been planted?

-"Are you wondering why the pearl was there and not taken away by the culprit if it was a clue?"- Romi asked, looking at him from the statues. Mitsuhiko nodded, admiring how perceptive she was.

-"I just don't get it"-

-"It's no mystery"- Romi pointed upwards, towards the light bulbs –"Today is a very cloudy day and without the lighting it'd be very easy to miss something as small and gray as that pearl. That is, supposing it wasn't put there on purpose"-

**Malfunctioning Lighting**

_The lights in Camp Lily weren't working well. That, added to the cloudy weather, lowered the illumination in the hallway where Yasumoto was murdered._

Romi gasped, looking at the statues. She had finally gotten her epiphany. –"Of course! So that's the meaning of this!"-

-"What did you find out?"- Mitsuhiko was curious what she could have gotten that everybody else, with functioning eyes, missed. He felt a bit like a jerk for labeling her as 'the blind one' all the time, as if that made her inferior in a way. Romi stood up in front of the third classroom.

-"Look, Takayama had said Kobayashi had come out of the bedroom to kill Yasumoto, yes? But remember she was hit in the abdomen, the face and the top of the head"- Romi touched her own scalp where Yasumoto had been hit –"She saw her killer coming. She must have"-

-"And so what?"-

-"If Yasumoto-san had seen Kobayashi-kun or anybody else with a baseball bat in a moment like that don't you think she would have screamed, ran away or something? Look where the blood is"- Romi pointed at the puddle –"It's between the third and fourth classrooms, Tanaka-san and Mimori-san. If she turned around when Kobayashi-kun came out of his room then she'd have seen the baseball bat and she'd have given an alert"-

Mitsuhiko remembered the recording showed the culprit had run, apparently. That by itself kinda broke Romi's reasoning, but to humor her she let her continue. –"Maybe he didn't have the baseball bat"-

-"I agree with that. When the culprit came out of whatever classroom they were in, they didn't have the baseball bat with them. It was hidden. When the culprit got here to the hallway, they grabbed it from the place it was hidden and killed her"-

-"And where would it be hidden?" Mitsuhiko couldn't avoid injecting some condescendence in his voice. Romi smiled playfully and pointed at the stone statues.

-"Don't you see any change in any of these statues?"- Mitsuhiko looked at them. All of them were statues of people, men and women of different heights and positions, pretty similar to the ones on the fountain. He didn't remember very well how they looked the first time he went to Camp Lily, so he admitted he had no idea what Romi was talking about. Romi walked to the statue between Kishio's room and Emiko's room, patting the stone hand. –"I remember there was a gray blob here. When I looked at the hallway from that point over there, near my room, I remembered it was that what was bothering me for so long"-

-"A blob, huh"- So there was a part of the statue missing, in the hand. It seemed like there was just enough space for something round and long to fit.

-"It looks different. But if whatever was there was also made of stone it can't be far"- Romi bent and looked near the base of the statue, finding a blob between the wall and the base. She dragged that object and left it in middle of the hallway. Mitsuhiko approached to take a better look.

It was a stone fire torch. Its handle also had the necessary size to fit the torch in the statue's hand. The hunter tried to lift it but it was very heavy. _No wonder the culprit didn't have time to place it back; it would have taken a while._

**Stone Torch**

_Part of a statue from Camp Lily. It was taken off the statue at some point before the murder. Very heavy._

-"If Yasumoto didn't remember the statues well she wouldn't noticed the missing torch. Also, once again the lighting would have been inconvenient"-

-"That was very observant of you"- Mitsuhiko complimented. Romi smiled, twiddling her gloved fingers.

-"I have to rely on my memory a lot now. I should be of enough help, but unless there are more things out of place I won't be useful anymore for the investigation. I'll go to my bedroom"- and with that, she walked to the right side of Camp Lily and entered her room.

When Mitsuhiko descended the stairs he went outside, towards the Back Courtyard. He already had suspicions of what had happened, but needed to check if it was possible in the first place. When he got to the Back Courtyard he got to a surprising scene: the shed of the courtyard had all its content strewn on the floor. –"What the..."-

-"Hikari-kun"- Kayano waved from there. Kishio was to her side, rummaging through different sports implements –"Have you been investigating?"-

-"I have. What's going on here?"-

-"The baseball bat must have been taken from here"- Kishio didn't stop her search –"We're trying to find if the culprit left anything around when they took it"-

-"We have found no evidence"- Kayano informed –"It is a truly harrowing experience"-

-"But did you need to throw everything around?"- it was a mess. Mitsuhiko wondered what everybody had been doing to leave everything like that.

-"We found it like this"-

-"While we were preparing everything Hosoya-kun accidentally threw down one of the shelves. It was a chain reaction"- Kishio seemed furious –"I don't want to talk about this topic. You ask him or Sasuga-kun about that, I want nothing to do with that"-

-"Right. There are other things I want to ask...who knew about the note Amy received?"- Mitsuhiko asked.

-"Takayama-kun, Yasumoto-san, Kayano-san, Tanaka-san"- Kishio counted with her fingers. The hunter frowned. They always returned to those five, although the courier seemed less likely than the rest.

-"Can you guarantee that?"-

-"I can. I myself checked every place, and the only people I saw were Yasumoto-san and Kobayashi-kun. Monobear also confirmed you and Oyama-san were in the Headquarters"-

-"But he denied it!"- Mitsuhiko protested. Kishio smiled sweetly.

-"If Monobear tried to hide you then you must have planned something nasty. It's in his nature. "-

Of course. It seemed obvious now. Using Monobear as an alibi wasn't a smart move, after all.

**Kishio's Testimony**

_Kishio confirmed there were only four people in the Headquarters after she talked with Monobear: Takayama, Yasumoto, Mitsuhiko and Yurie._

-"Right. I have a question for you, Kayano-san"- Mitsuhiko said to her –"Have Amy and Takayama-kun talked with you yet?"-

-"Not yet. Why's that?"-

-"Could you show me the pearls in your backup bag?"-

Kayano raised her eyebrows. –"That's a strange inquiry"-

-"We found a pearl in the crime scene"-

Kayano turned deathly pale. -"A P-p-p-p-pearl!"-

-"Why so surprised?"-

-"That'd mean one of the people who has the pearl strings is the culprit! But we were supposed to be the ones to keep everyone alive!"-

-"Exactly. Show me your pearl string, Kayano-san"-

Kayano lifted her arm delicately, showing it to everybody. Mitsuhiko counted the pearls, getting to ten. –"Ooooh...here are all the pearls"-

-"I'm not surprised about that. Every string has ten pearls, as well as my backup pouch. The pearl you found isn't mine"-

-"Does the pearls in your backup pouch have holes in them?"-

-"No, they're intact. Allow me to show you"- Mitsuhiko walked towards the Front Courtyard, followed by Kishio and Kayano. They entered the Headquarters and went to Camp Lily, going to Kayano's classroom.

**Kayano's Testimony**

_All pearl strings have ten pearls and were given to Takayama, Yasumoto, Kayano and Kishio. Her backup pouch also contains ten pearls_

Kayano opened the desk in her room, taking out the pouch Mitsuhiko had seen before. Kayano opened it and took a single pearl, showing it to Mitsuhiko. The hunter examined it carefully, finding that it didn't have any hole.-"All pearls I have are untouched until I use them for a string. I use this little drill here, but all pearls in this pouch haven't been perforated yet. Maybe somebody else has pearls too?-

-"I haven't seen pearls from anybody else other than you"- Kishio said –"We should ask others too"-

-"Yes. Let's..."- Mitsuhiko was interrupted by a chime from the speaker located on a wall of the classroom.

-"Ding-dong! Time is up, bastards! Everybody come to the Meeting Room to start the trial! Not coming is punishable, so you better not take too long!"- Monobear's voice sounded. Mitsuhiko groaned, their time was over and although he had suspicions he wasn't really sure of who the killer was.

Kayano, Kishio and Mitsuhiko descended the stairs and walked to the Meeting Room, but before they left the lobby, Mitsuhiko felt something pulling from his clothes. Turning around he noticed Lily.

The little girl seemed absent, and gestured him to follow her. She led him to the hallway to the Theater. –"I don't know what to do"- she stated.

-"What do you mean?"-

-"I know very well what my programming tells me to do. I'm not supposed to help in any way, as I'll be the Judge in the trials. But...Hikari-kun, you need to keep this as a secret, okay?"-

-"I promise"- _I think. If it's too important I'll tell at least Yurie._

Lily wringed her hands and said what was keeping her in so many doubts –"I was also programmed to ensure nobody's life was in risk, and to make it even worse, I was also programmed to not to interfere into anybody's actions"-

-"That's strange"- And that was an understatement. She had come with the intention to kickstart a mutual killing game, and that was also why she was going to be the Judge. But if that was so, why would she also have to keep in mind nobody should die? That was a serious contradiction. _Just what was Lily's creator trying to do here?_

-"And why are you telling me all this?"-

-"Directive #2: The lives of the commanders must be safe. The trial doesn't make it safe at all, so I must take actions to help you all. Take this"- Lily took a bundle of clothes she had left in the hallway, making Mitsuhiko receive it. It was a bundle of gray clothes, and they were wet and almost soggy.

-"What's this and where did you find them?"-

-"These are clothes and they were found in the Theater Storage"- Lily pointed behind her –"Although they were in the right place their actual state makes them strange"-

**Wet Gray Clothes**

_A long overcoat with short sleeves. A big hat. Both are of a light gray color and at the moment they were found they were soggy with water. Found by Lily._

-"There's also this"- Lily gave Mitsuhiko a container. The hunter opened it, taking a look at the gray paste inside. He touched it with his fingers, finding he could smear it easily over his skin.

-"Makeup?"-

-"Theater makeup"-

**Theater Makeup**

_A gray paste, easy to smear. Found by Lily._

-"Lily, I want to ask something: do you know who the culprit is?"-

Lily nodded. When Mitsuhiko asked her why she didn't tell him a name she nervously opened and closed the plates in her hands, revealing and hiding the glass panels in them. –"Directive #2: The lives of the commanders must be safe. The culprit will be executed, therefore is at risk and I can't directly reveal who it is. I can only help like this"-

-"Right. Anything else?"-

Lily gave Mitsuhiko a crumpled paper. When he opened it he almost dropped it in surprise. It was the note he had written to call Kobayashi to the Administrative Offices. –"I found this among the trash. It's yours, isn't it?"-

-"Why didn't you try to stop me if you're supposed to protect our lives?"-

Lily looked away. -"Directive #1: I must obey all of my creator's wishes. I was told to not to interfere with what was going on. Directive #1 overrides any other order I have"-

-"Who told you that?"- Mitsuhiko didn't think Lily would give a straight answer to that, but maybe he could find out who it was with some logic and deductions. Lily scowled, her eyes glowing disquietingly.

-"It wasn't Yasumoto-san, if that's what you're asking"- So Lily's creator didn't want anybody to die yet created a mutual killing game. Didn't want any deaths yet let a murder plan continue.

Just what's going on and how does it tie with Monobear and the Main Board?

**Mitsuhiko's Note**

_A note Mitsuhiko wrote to summon Kobayashi to the Administrative Offices. 'Kobayashi. We have found very important files about Lily. You're the only one who can answer my questions now. Meet me in the Administrative Offices at 2 PM'_

-"We have to go now before Monobear goes looking for us. Use this evidence smartly, Hikari-kun"-

-"One last thing: why did you give these to me and not to anybody else?"-

-"Directive #1"-

-"Huh"- _Why does it seem like Lily's creator has a fixation on me or something? First they let my murder plan continue and then they order Lily to give me the evidence. Next thing I'll hear is that Lily's creator also was the one who sent me the gun._

Lily and Mitsuhiko walked towards the Meeting Room. It seemed there were only two other people who weren't there, so Mitsuhiko waited outside to see if any of those two could provide testimony before starting the trial.

Kayano arrived, drying her hands with a handkerchief. –"You finally arrive. Monobear was about to look for you to gut you like a salmon. That's a direct quote"-

-"Why are you out here, then?"-

-"I had to go to the washroom while everybody else calmed Monobear. Hosoya-kun went to look for you"- Kayano entered and sat to the side of Yasumoto's photograph, with Romi to her other side.

Hosoya arrived shortly after that. –"There you are"-

-"Hosoya-kun, did you see anything about the crime?"-

-"I was outside all the time, I know nothing. Besides I was busy myself"-

-"You mean what happened to the shed?"- Kishio had said Hosoya had been who had caused that mess –"How did that happen, by the way?"-

Hosoya smiled childishly, as if he were going to tell a harmless prank he had played on somebody. –"Sugita-chan is very attractive, isn't she? I got her to the courtyard shed and told her. She didn't take it so well"-

_That's no wonder, you creepy fuck._ –"Really?"-

-"Yes. Then I tried to kiss her"- Mitsuhiko kept his face stoic, but he had his fists ready to break Hosoya's face –"She tried to move away, so I had to force her even further into the shed. I tried again, I grabbed her sensually and..."- Hosoya sighed.

-"And then what?"-

-"And then Sasuga found me. He threw a punch and missed, but I crashed against a shelf. Sasuga and Sugita went around saying that I tried to rape her or something. That's not true, I was just wooing her"- Hosoya didn't seem the least bit bothered he had practically tried to sexually assault Sugita. _So that's why Kishio didn't want to talk about this, I think._

-"Thank you for that, Hosoya-kun, but there's something else I'd like to ask"- Mitsuhiko slowly took his gun out of his pocket, making sure it had its safety mechanism on. Sure, he couldn't shoot Hosoya even if he wanted due to the consequences it'd have, but that didn't mean he couldn't give him what he deserved. Hosoya noticed too late what Mitsuhiko was doing.

In a swift move Mitsuhiko hit Hosoya with the butt of the gun directly in the mouth. Hosoya was thrown back, clutching his bleeding mouth. –"Think you can you kiss anybody now?"- the hunter asked rhetorically while entering the meeting room. Hosoya came a bit later, touching his lips. He hadn't stopped bleeding yet and Mitsuhiko honestly hoped he wouldn't.

**Hosoya's Testimony**

_Hosoya attracted Sugita into the courtyard shed. Everything ended with the contents of the shed strewn around. Everybody was witnesses to what happened, especially Sasuga._

Koshimizu looked between Mitsuhiko and Hosoya, nodding thoughtfully. –"Nicely done"- Mitsuhiko didn't reply. Monobear stared at Hosoya.

-"You got an ugly wound there! But too bad for you. We're starting the trial now!

Let the trial for Chiyo 's murder begin!"-

Mitsuhiko took a deep breath. If Kobayashi had died a trial would have been done for that too. He had no idea how he'd have reacted as a culprit, but now, as just one innocent commander, he had the obligation to find who had murdered the Mind Demon.

_Besides I can't die just yet. There's something going on in these Headquarters and I'm not sure I like it not even a little bit._


	7. Chapter 1: The Flaw in Our Fortress Trial I

-"First than all a reminder of how this works"- Monobear started, sitting on the throne on the farthest point of the table. Lily was clinging to the side of the throne, pouting –"You'll debate and vote for who is the culprit for this murder. If you guess correctly, the culprit will be executed and you'll be free to live for a bit more, but if you fail, everybody innocent will be executed and the culprit will be the new member of the Main Board"-

-"And what'll she do?"- Mimori pointed at Lily with her pen. The journalist was already ready to take notes of everything in order to solve the mystery.

-"Oh, she? She'll be my personal helper"- Monobear patted Lily's head while her scowl deepened –"At least she'll be a nice cup holder"- Monobear showed a glass of water from mnowhere, putting it carefully on top of Lily's head. That was too much for the girl, as she grabbed it and splashed Monobear with the water.

-"I was supposed to be the Judge!"-

-"That's too bad. I'll take over your responsibilities"-

-"What were you going to do, Lily? What's this 'Judge' thing?"- Sugita asked.

-"...I was supposed to conduct the trial, handling the evidence and leading you all towards the best result possible. I can't do it as well now but I'll try"-

-"Oh no, you won't! No helping! Okay, start!"-

The commanders cracked their knuckles, metaphorically, and got ready for the trial. Their lives were at stake, it was no situation to make mistakes. –"Point of order"- Fukuyama raised his hand –"How was Yasumoto murdered, exactly?"-

-"Excellent starting point, Fukuyama-kun! Define the crime weapon and the place...ack!"- Monobear bopped Lily's head –"Don't do that!"-

-"But Lily's right, let's do that. So, the weapon was that baseball bat we found and the murder happened in Camp Lily. That much is clear, what we must find is who did it"- Hosoya said, drying the blood that was seeping from his mouth.

-"There aren't many suspects here"- Koshimizu started pointing around –"Kishio-sensei brought us all outside, where she, Takayama-kun and Kayano-san kept an eye on all of us. There were only four people inside"- Koshimizu pointed to the four supposed suspects.

-"It's unthinkable that she killed herself"- Kayano piped up.

-"Kobayashi-kun was too busy getting shot while these two were the ones with the gun"- Mitsuishi completed the idea –"That means none of those four could have done it"-

-"But nobody outside could have entered the headquarters! Kishio-sensei and her merry friendship comrades never took their eyes off us"- Sasuga argued

-"Okay, okay, let's not write off everybody. We need a suspect. How can somebody with an alibi kill Yasumoto-san?"- Hosoya stopped touching his lips. Takayama smugly put his feet on the table, making his armor rattle.

-"It's all about timing. Just because one had an alibi doesn't mean it was there all the time. So, Hikari-kun, Oyama-san...how did you prepare yourselves for the murder?"-

-"We hid in the Theater while Kishio-sensei was rounding everybody as cattle"- Yurie said bluntly -"Mitsu-chan was with me all the time until we found the dead body"-

-"Were you trying to accuse us?"- Mitsuhiko practically growled. That wasn't what he had thought Takayama would do, it was in clear contradiction with everything he had done. _Then why...?_ The hunter understood why once he saw Takayama's satisfied smile.

-"So if these two didn't do it and Yasumoto-san didn't suicide then...the answer becomes obvious, doesn't it?"-

-"You mean Kobayashi-kun"- Koshimizu nodded. He had already known about Takayama's suspicion from earlier.

-"Yes! Our newest commander is the culprit"-

-"But we were shooting him while Yasumoto-san was murdered, he didn't do it"- Mitsuhiko prodded Takayama to lay out everything he had against Kobayashi. Once he did he'd blow open the case with the recording.

-"So you say that. Look, it's all matter of timing. Let me show you how it all happened!"-

* * *

** Nonstop Debate **

* * *

_Recording #2 / Shallow Cuts / Mitsuhiko's Note_

* * *

TAKAYAMA: First Kishio-sensei **led everybody outside**

ROMI: You mean almost everybody

TAKAYAMA: Whatever. Hikari-kun and Oyama-san **hid in the Administrative Offices**

TAKAYAMA: Just after that Yasumoto went to check Kobayashi-kun in his room

TAKAYAMA: She told him to wait for a moment, but then...

TAKAYAMA: ...while she was walking away **Kobayashi-kun attacked her**!

HOSOYA: The bloodstain is **pretty close** to Kobayashi-kun's bedroom

HOSOYA: It sounds logical to me

TAKAYAMA: After killing her and **leaving the body in the Lobby**...

TAKAYAMA: ...he went to the offices where he was shot.

TAKAYAMA: See? It's all in the timing of the events.

* * *

To demonstrate his argument Takayama gave Lily a small portable dispositive with the recording file he had made Mitsuhiko listen. –"And there you have it. That's the moment of the crime!"

-"That's wrong!"- Mitsuhiko exclaimed, pointing dramatically. Takayama lifted his glasses to his forehead with disdain.

-"And why's that?"-

-"Because I can prove Kobayashi didn't come out of his bedroom at all after Yasumoto-san talked to him. Listen to this"- Mitsuhiko left on the table the second recording, making it sound. The recording showed the moment that unknown female voice told Kobayashi to wait fifteen seconds. The sound of the door opening was clear, but Takayama shook his head.

-"That's not very convincing. We have a recording, not a video. For all we know that person could have been talking to somebody else"-

-"No, that's impossible. You said it yourself:

* * *

_Kishio led everybody outside_

_Mitsuhiko and Yurie hid in the Offices_

_Kobayashi attacked Yasumoto_

_Kobayashi left the body in the Lobby_

**_Kishio led everybody outside_ **

* * *

-"The only person who could have been in a bedroom was Amy. Yasumoto was dead and Yurie and I were in the office. Do you see now?"-

-"Right, smart boy"- Takayama took his feet off the table –"Then tell me something: if Kobayashi-kun was in his bedroom and Yasumoto was dead then who's the person in the recording?"-

-"The real culprit, of course!"-

-"The real...? Are you saying you have a suspect that isn't Kobayashi-kun?"- Koshimizu stroked his beard, looking at the hunter with interest.

-"Not only one...I have two"-

-"No, no, stop there!"- Takayama hit the table –"You haven't even proved Kobayashi-kun is innocent!"-

-"There's something I'm wondering about"- Sasuga raised his hand –"You, show me the soles of your shoes"- he demanded to Kobayashi. The illusionist nodded and took off his shoes, leaving them on the table. Sasuga took them and didn't need more than a couple seconds to show what he had wanted to find. He put one of the shoes upside-down on the table, showing the sole.

There was a good portion on it covered with blood. Takayama smirked triumphantly –"That's it! I know how this went! I have solved your argument, Hikari-kun"-

-"That can't be possible..."- Mitsuhiko grit his teeth. How could Takayama continue thinking Kobayashi was the culprit?

**I SAID I COULD DO IT**

Takayama had stood up. There was a feverish expression in his face. Some of the commanders stepped back, not wanting to be so close to the bodyguard –"I won't let you stray us from giving Yasumoto-san's murderer what he deserves!"-

-"Why do you care so much? Did you like Yasumoto-san or something?"-

-"What? No! This is a matter of pride. I let that stupid woman convince me to not to guard her. The least I can do is to execute the person who caused her death. Here's my argument!"-

* * *

**Rebuttal Showdown**

_Water in the Fountain / Stone Torch / Wet Gray Clothes_

TAKAYAMA: When Yasumoto went to Camp Lily...

TAKAYAMA: ...Kobayashi murdered her

TAKAYAMA: After that he laid the body in the Lobby

TAKAYAMA: And returned to Camp Lily!

TAKAYAMA: He planned to use my microphones as his alibi

MITSUHIKO: How would he know about the microphones?

TAKAYAMA: It wasn't exactly a secret

TAKAYAMA: **Nobody can guarantee** it's a female voice

TAKAYAMA: Kobayashi pretended **to talk to himself**

TAKAYAMA: And when the fifteen seconds passed **he opened a doo** r

TAKAYAMA: That's why he has blood on his shoes

TAKAYAMA: Everything related to the murder has been explained

* * *

Mitsuhiko nodded. –"He could have stepped on blood without being the culprit"-

-"You're correct, Hikari-kun, but that doesn't negate Takayama's argument"- Kayano looked at her nails with indifference.

-"I'm getting into that! So he says he has explained everything related to the murder, but there's one piece of evidence that hasn't been linked to Kobayashi-kun in any way"- Mitsuhiko lifted that heap of clothes Lily had given him, leaving it on the table.

-"Watch out with that!"- Mimori squealed with disgust, eyeing the water that was starting to seep onto the table. Mitsuhiko paid no attention to that, pointing at the clothes.

-"Explain that, Takayama-kun. How do these fit with Kobayashi-kun's murder plan?"-

Takayama took the clothes and extended them over the table, splashing some of the commanders and earning some protests. Everybody took a good luck to the overcoat, noting its color and material. –"This is a heavy cloth. Wearing it could hinder one's movements greatly"- Kishio had lifted part of it.

-"The hat doesn't have anything special"- Mitsuishi had taken it and had turned it around, looking for clues.

The bodyguard continued silent, glaring at the clothes as if they had insulted him, until he finally had to admit. –"I don't know, but there's something else I'd like to ask: are you completely sure these things are related in any way to the murder?"-

-"It's practically proven by now"- Mitsuhiko smiled smugly –"It's one concrete quality these clothes have that'll show how they're related to this case:

* * *

_They're gray_

_They're wet_

_They're heavy_

_They cover most of her body_

* * *

**_They're wet_ **

* * *

-"These clothes are soaking wet, or at least were at some point. Do you all see why I'm saying they're related?"-

Mimori went back a few pages in her notebook, her voice getting an octave higher –"The body was wet too! You're saying Yasumoto was wearing these clothes when it got wet"-

-"Either her or her murderer was wearing it. So tell me, Takayama-kun, how do they fit in your suspicion against Kobayashi-kun?"-

Takayama poked the overcoat –"They doesn't. But just because I can't think of a way doesn't mean he's innocent"-

Mitsuhiko facepalmed. They weren't getting anywhere. He had the feeling Takayama would continue insisting Kobayashi was guilty, no matter what was presented. While he was massaging his temples, trying to order his thoughts, somebody had enough of what was going on.

-"I can't accept see you lot continue flailing around"- Lily grumbled, crossing her arms. Monobear, who until that point had been watching the trial with interest, looked at her.

-"Lily, I'm warning you. Don't say another word"-

-"Monobear only announces a dead body when three innocent people find it"- Lily stated before Monobear raised his claws. He striked the top of Lily's head, causing a deep gash. Lily screeched, twitching, but she didn't seem to break down.

-"I'm the bear in charge here. Stay there!"-

Fukuyama clicked his tongue –"If Lily had stayed as the Judge surely she would have made us stay on track. At least she's generous with the information"-

-"Why didn't _you_ tell us about the three people rule?"- Takayama took off his glasses, rubbing his eyes. If he had known about it before maybe he wouldn't have pursued Kobayashi as the killer. Monobear gave what seemed to be a deep sigh.

-"That's not important information. Continue, continue"-

-"Three -kun and Oyama-san found the body, we all saw it, so that's two"- Koshimizu steepled his fingers, resting his chin on them.

-"The third person could have been one of those two. Two people before them could have seen it already"- Fukuyama tried to contribute but Takayama quickly dismissed what he had said.

-"We all were outside except those four! Hikari-kun and Oyama-san really were the last to find them"-

-"Following that logic then the first person to have seen the body was...Kobayashi-kun?"-

-"It isn't confirmed he's innocent"- Takayama grumbled, still bitter for having lost his main suspect.

-"Uh"- Kobayashi timidly piped up –"But I didn't see any corpses...nor in Camp Lily nor in the Lobby. There was that blood but I didn't see it, the light was too dim, but I'm sure if the body had been there I'd have stepped on it"-

-"But you must have been the one who saw it, right? Nobody else was in the building"- Mitsuhiko argued.

-"And who was the one to say it?"- Kobayashi inadvertently touched his cast.

-"It was Monobear"- Kishio answered –"I asked him and he said that"- Kobayashi looked at her as if she were crazy.

-"Are we trusting _Monobear's_ word?"-

-"We don't really have any other option. Look at him"- Sugita pointed at Monobear with her thumb. The bear was lounging on his seat without a care about the world –"Do you think he'd be the kind who would let us interrogate him?"-

-"I'm an honest bear"- Monobear only said that, letting everybody else continue.

-"Yeah, we don't really have any other option besides trusting his words"- Fukuyama sighed, almost unintelligibly due to his mask. Kobayashi rubbed his eyes, thinking.

-"Right. Let's suppose he was telling the truth. If I wasn't the one to see the dead body then...somebody else did"-

-"But Monobear had said..."- Oyama-san started but Kobayashi didn't let her finish.

-"He said nobody but us four were in the Headquarters. But...what if somebody entered after he had said that? That way it wouldn't be a lie, right?"-

-"Somebody entered and saw the dead body in the Lobby"- Takayama got to the logical conclusion. But that's impossible. Kishio-sensei, Kayano-san and I were watching everybody in the courtyard. There's no way any of them could sneak away from us!"-

-"...we were watching them but..."- Kishio muttered and frowned. –"...oh. _Figlio di puttana'_

-"Are we thinking the same thing?"- Mimori had been focused on writing what everybody had said. Kishio and Mimori looked at each other with worried expressions. Kishio sank in her seat, realizing the implications of what they found. Mimori left her notebook on the table and stood up, walking towards Lily.

The journalist put her hand over the gash on Lily's head, whispering to her. Lily, still cringing due to the damage, nodded. –"That's right"-

-"Oi, what are you saying there?"- Monobear leaned on the side of his chair, trying to listen.

-"Nothing you should care about. Okay, I think what's going on here is obvious. The Three Amigos were watching over us all, but I want somebody to tell me something: who was watching over the Three Amigos?"-

-"What do you mean?"- Sugita didn't fully understand Mimori's point. Mimori returned to hear seat, satisfied with her deductions

-"What I mean is that there are three people who weren't watched over and could do whatever they wanted: those three who wanted us to get along and be friends"-

Everybody looked at Kayano, Takayama and Kishio. Mimori's argument was obvious now. –"One of those three could have sneaked into the Headquarters..."- Emiko fiddled with her cap.

-"Yes. One of those three is the killer"- Sugita finally understood what the point was –"But when exactly would that person have the chance to do it?"-

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

Shallow Cuts / Kayano's Testimony / Pearl / Malfunctioning Lighting / Recording #2

* * *

KOBAYASHI: Nobody was paying attention to them

KOBAYASHI: It was just **matter of going inside**

ROMI: Are you sure none of you three saw each other?

KISHIO: I was too busy keeping everybody outside

KISHIO: But I did stay **near the entrance**

TAKAYAMA: I was **in the courtyard** with everybody else

KAYANO: I was in the area on the **opposite side** to Kishio-sensei

MITSUISHI: That makes it impossible for Takayama-kun...

MITSUISHI: ...to enter the headquarters, right?

KAYANO: Not really. I had to move from my spot when...

KAYANO: ...a **_sudden event_** happened.

KISHIO: I'm sure everybody had gathered in the courtyard

SASUGA: Is it even confirmed one of them **_entered the headquarters_**?

MIMORI: Even if it isn't it's the logical thing to suppose

* * *

-"It's confirmed and undeniable"- Mitsuhiko stated –"And it's because of this!"- the hunter took out the pearl and rolled it on the table. Everybody watched it go until it stopped in front of Sasuga, who took it to examine it.

-"A pearl with a hole. It must have been from one of the strings they have wrapped around their arms"-

-"Let's count them"- Fukuyama, Kobayashi and Mitsuishi stood up, going towards one of the suspects. All of them extended their arms so they could see the pearls. All of them counted them, getting to ten in each arm.

-"Impossible! All of them have ten pearls!"- Mitsuishi clutched his head when everybody informed their finding.

-"No, wait! There's something else!"- Mitsuhiko stood up.

* * *

Monobear File #1

Missing Tooth

Shallow Cuts

Baseball Bat

Water in the Fountain

Recording #1

Recording #2

Blood in the Hallway

Kobayashi's Testimony

Pearl

Malfunctioning Lighting

Stone Torch

Kishio's Testimony

Kayano's Testimony

Wet Gray Clothes

Theater Makeup

Mitsuhiko's Note

Hosoya's Testimony

* * *

**Kayano's Testimony**

* * *

-"Kayano-san has a pouch where she stores pearls. The pearl could have come from there, doesn't it?"-

-"That's a good point. Kayano-san, how many pearls are in that pouch?"-

-"There are presently ten pearls"-

-"Thank you for mentioning that, Hikari-kun! Because I have something to say"- Kobayashi cleared his throat and stood up –"I say Kayano-san is the culprit here"-

-"Me?"- Kayano smiled nervously.

-"Yes, you. That pearl points at you. Takayama-kun can't be the culprit, I already counted his pearls and his behavior isn't fitting for the killer. Kishio-sensei wouldn't murder anybody, I'm sure of it. You're the only one left"-

-"Your argument is not very good"-

-"But it's a process of elimination! That's important evidence in a case like this one. You're the only one left in the list!"-

-"I agree with him. Kayano-san is the only one who could have done it"- Takayama quickly supported. Although Kobayashi raised his eyebrows to Takayama's sudden change of opinion he didn't comment about that.

-"This is preposterous"- Kayano twitched –"If my pouch is what you want then somebody go ahead and count the pearls"-

-"I'm the one closest to you. Let me count them"- Romi extended her hand towards Kayano before she could pass it to anybody. Kayano gulped but passed it. Romi opened the pouch and emptied the content in her hand. Placing the empty ouch on the table she started putting the pearls back in, one by one and loudly counting them. –"Four...five...six..."- until she got to ten. Kobayashi's eyes bulged, surprised.

-"That can't be possible! You must have made a mistake, Romi-san!"-

-"There's no mistake, there are ten pearls here"- Romi gave Kayano the pouch back –"It's impossible I'm mistaken. All of you saw me putting one by one in here, didn't you?"-

Hosoya buried his face in his hands. –"Does this mean Kayano-san is innocent too?"-

-"Well this is..."- Kobayashi was clueless now. He had been pretty sure Kayano didn't have all her pearls, but Romi had verified they had. Everybody had seen it, ten pearls into the pouch. –"Now what? Why was Kishio-sensei innocent, again?"-

-"Because she wouldn't do something like killing somebody under her charge"- Sugita answered and frowned –"In hindsight that's a terrible reason to not to suspect her. In fact...there's something that points at her. Lily!"-

-"Yes?"- Lily had been prodding her head, as if she were expecting to feel something inside it.

-"Who does the bedrooms in Camp Lily belong to?"-

Lily projected a map of the available areas of the Headquarters. It was glitching and flickering, possibly due to the damage to her head, but that didn't stop her from trying to help. Lighting up the classrooms as she talked, she started on the left side of the hall. –"First it's Kobayashi-kun's room, then it's Ki-Ki-Kishio-san's room, then Tanaka-san's room, then Mimori-san's room..."-

-"Stop!"- Sugita thought for a moment –"That's where I was going to. Let me show you how this goes!"- The Tea Demon stood to the side of the projected map, pointing at the important points while Lily helpfully added what she talked about.

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

Kishio's Testimony / Recording #1 / Hosoya's Testimony / Kobayashi's Testimony / Water in the Fountain

* * *

SUGITA: The blood was here

SUGITA: That's **where Yasumoto-san died**

EMIKO: Between my room and Mimori-san's room

SUGITA: Exactly. The killer can't have stood...

SUGITA: ...in **middle of the hall**. So where would they be?

ROMI: In a **classroom**!

OYAMA: But in which one? It can only have been...

SUGITA: In either Kishio-sensei or Tanaka-san's room

SUGITA: They're **our suspects** here

OYAMA: Tanaka-san was kept outside but...

OYAMA: **Kishio-sensei could have returned** into the headquarters

SUGITA: **Only Kishio-sensei** could hide in her bedroom

SUGITA: After all it's **hers**!

SUGITA: Nobody else can enter a classroom **except the owner**

* * *

-"I have no idea where you got such a wrong idea but that's incorrect"- Mitsuhiko said as kindly as possible. Sugita only glared at him but that didn't stop him from continuing –"The classrooms doors doesn't have any locks. Anybody can enter in them at any point.

The Tea Demon gasped –"...really? But then..."-

-"Yeah, this means nothing against Kishio-sensei"- Hosoya sighed –"But she's the only suspect we have right now"-

-"She has all her pearls too, I counted them"- Mitsuishi pointed –"We're stuck. We should have followed my reasoning, we would be finished if we had"- Nobody bothered to mention he hadn't contributed in any way to the discussion so far.

-"There must be something we can define here! Kishio-sensei, can anybody confirm you stayed outside?"- Nobody stepped forward to say they could confirm she stayed outside the whole time. Before anybody could continue pursuing any lead against Kishio Mimiro laughed heartily, clutching her notebook. Everybody stared for a moment before daring to ask what had happened to her.

-"Why are you laughing?"- Takayama asked prudently.

-"It's just that...you're all missing a crucial detail, one that can change everything here. You're all lucky my observational skills are excellent"-

-"How about instead of bragging you go straight to the point?"- Mitsuhiko asked with little patience. Mimiro took her pen, pointing at Kayano

-"Who has the pearls again? The four components of Yasumoto-san's group, right? But there's something strange here with that.

What would you say if I told you there's somebody else in this room that also has pearls and hasn't gone through any suspicion?"-

Everybody was silent, processing what Mimori had just said. –"Okay, who is it? Who received pearls too?"-

-"Why don't you ask Kayano-san?"- The dancer answered instantly what had been said before: Takayama, Kishio, Yasumoto and Kayano. Mimori smiled almost sinisterly, laughing softly.

-"Are you...covering for her?"-

-"For who?"- Kayano, confused, looked around, trying to see if anybody had strings in their arms. Mimori shook her head.

-"You seriously forgot. What could it mean, I wonder?"-

-"Stop that and go to the point! Who has pearls too?"- Takayama banged the table. Mimori rolled her eyes, finally answered the query. She made a flourish with her pen before pointing to the end of the table where Monobear was sitting. The bear didn't react.

-"Monobear? Why would I give pearls to him?"-

-"No, not him. Her"- the pen moved just a bit to the left. Lily stepped behind Monobear's chair -"Get out of there and let's get this in order"- Kayano gasped, suddenly realizing what Mimori meant. They really must have been not paying attention to not to notice the rather visible string of pearls on the girl's head, tangled between her hair horns.

-"Of course. Lily. Yasumoto-san had given pearls to her as an attempt to befriend Lily's creator. I didn't remember that!"

-"Maybe because you weren't the one to give them"- Takayama had calmed down –"Lily, come here and show us the pearls she gave you"-

-"That won't be necessary"- Mimori interjected –"I went there just a while ago to check it, she confirmed Yasumoto-san was the one to give her the pearls. But the one who gave them isn't important, right?"-

-"Of course not. What matters is the number"- Romi narrowed her eyes trying to focus on Lily.

-"I already counted them"- Mimori couldn't be smugger –"You'll like what I have to say: there were only _nine_ pearls.

Lily, you're either an accomplice or...you're the killer. I'm leaning more towards accomplice, though. Would you like to tell us what you had to do with all this?"-


	8. Chapter 1: The Flaw in Our Fortress - Trial II

Lily didn't really react to Mimori's accusation. Instead she twitched before asking: -"What makes you think that? Just that pearl?"-

-"Where is your missing pearl, then?"- Mimori asked with the same calmness Lily had.

-"I don't know. Maybe it fell off when I tried to take it off earlier. Who cares"-

-"It's impossible she did it, Mimori-san"- Koshimizu stood up near Lily –"Yasumoto-san was almost as tall as me. See how Lily only can reach my waist?"-

-"That's why I said it's likely she was an accomplice, not the killer"-

-"That has got to be a joke. What did Lily do, then?"- Fukuyama muttered. Mimori flipped the pages of her notebook until she got near the beginning.

-"Hikari-kun, you were the one with the recording, right? Play it again"-

-"Uh, yes"- Mitsuhiko obeyed, pressing the play button in the recorder. Everybody listened once again how a female commander talked to Kobayashi. Once it was over everybody looked at Mimori, expectantly.

The journalist wrote for a moment –"Intrepid reporter solves devious murder plan'. That recording shows what Lily's involvement with the murder was"-

-"You mean she's the voice here?"- Romi frowned –"But it sounds very different to her voice. It's impossible it's Lily"-

-"Not if she can record voices"- Mimori stated.

-"Can she really do that?"- Mitsuhiko thought it wasn't very farfetched to think Lily had that function.

-"You confirmed that? How?"- Kishio inquired.

-"...that's what I haven't done yet. Lily, can you record voices?"-

Lily shook her head and almost fell onto the floor, having lost control of her limbs –"I ca-c-c-c-can't do that"-

-"Upupupu...Lily, Lily, naughty and dishonest Lily"- Monober shook his head –"She can do that. I have seen her"-

-"But if it's a recording then Yasumoto-san would need to say that, wouldn't she?"- Koshimizu pointed a flaw in the logic –"That can't have happened"-

-"I said 'record', not 'play. If Lily can analyze the recording and imitate the pitch and the tone of Yasumoto's voice then she could attempt it"-

_There's something wrong in Mimori's logic, there must be. But what? What's wrong with this?_ While Mitsuhiko thought the rest went to the big point of the argument. –"Then who is the killer, if Lily is the accomplice?"- Sasuga asked hoarsely. Mimori tilted her head.

-"Her creator, of course. I have suspected it for quite a while already. If there's somebody Lily would help it's her creator"-

-"...that's not bad logic!"- Oyama exclaimed with enthusiasm –"Lily's creator tried to do a mutual killing game. When they saw nobody was killing they decided to take the matter into their own hands"-

-"That's what I thought"-

-"Lily's creator is trying to kill us all, that's what's going on"- Kishio nodded –"So, Mimori-san, who is the killer?"-

Mimori rubbed her hands nervously –"...that's the part I have problems with. I have no idea"- the commanders' attention diminished quickly.

-"Then we haven't progressed"- Hosoya put his face in his hands.

-"I'd say we're worse than before. I mean, anybody could be Lily's creator"- Kishio stated.

-"No, Lily was just an accomplice. The killer had to be somebody who sneaked into the manor, one of those suspects we already talked about"- Emiko said –"But is it even sure that the killer is Lily's creator?"-

_I'm not even convinced Lily had anything to do with this, but how to prove it? How to prove...that Mimori is mistaken? But if she is then what about the pearl?_

_Come on..._

* * *

** Nonstop Debate **

* * *

Wet Gray Clothes / Blood in the Hallway / Water in the Fountain / Pearl / Mitsuhiko's Note

* * *

KISHIO: If Lily is an accomplice then...

KISHIO: Couldn't she have been **the one to drag the body**?

KISHIO: Then the killer would be **the one in the recording**

OYAMA: Lily is a robot, it wouldn't be hard...

OYAMA: ...for her to drag the body

ROMI: But if Lily had done it she'd be stained with blood, right?

ROMI: Can a robot like her get wet?

ROMI: She wouldn't be able **to wash blood off her**

FUKUYAMA: I see no blood on her

SASUGA: It isn't even **guaranteed she touched blood** anyway.

HOSOYA: **_Lily was the one in the recording_**

HOSOYA: There's no other solution.

MIMORI: Nice to see we all agree **she was involved** , though!

* * *

-"No, Sasuga-kun. It's very likely she touched blood"- Mitsuhiko wagged his finger –"and I can prove it"-

-"Then do it"- Takayama urged impatiently.

-"When Yasumoto-san was killed blood was spilled. We all saw the blood in the hallway, didn't we? That's the blood Lily should have touched"-

-"You mean with her hands when she grabbed the body?"- Kayano arched her neck, trying to look into Lily's hands –"They seem spotless to me"-

-"No, I don't mean with her hands. Don't you all remember? Kobayashi-kun, who was in that hallway, too, got blood on himself too. That shows it's likely Lily would be the same"-

Kobayashi's eyes widened –"Her feet! She must have stepped on the blood!"-

-"Exactly! So let's take a look to the bottom of her shoes. That should set everything straight"-

Lily fidgeted –"That's fine w-w-with me"- she walked to Mitsuhiko and lifted her foot. As expected the shoes were fused to the legs, so it wasn't like she could take them off. Mitsuhiko practically made Lily stand awkwardly on one leg while he carefully rubbed the metallic sole, trying to feel if there was any trace of blood. Everybody looked at him while he carefully did it, until Hosoya lost his patience and climbed on the table, peering closer.

-"What did you find? Say it!"-

-"Move back before I decide to crush your head with my gun"- the hunter said grumpily, setting the foot back onto the floor. Lily stepped back to her spot, clutching her head.

-"So...was there any blood?"- Romi was barely holding her curiosity. Mitsuhiko rubbed his fingertips, remembering the sensation.

-"...I can say without any doubt that...

...that there has never been any blood on Lily's shoes"-

The statement was received with frustration by those who believed Lily had anything to do with the murder and with relief by those who had serious doubts about Mimori's theory. –"You can't be serious!"- Fukuyama slammed the table –"There must be blood! Her shoes are green, it'd be hard to see and be sure!"-

-"That's why I touched them and I insist, there was no blood"-

-"She must have changed them when they got bloodied. Come on!"- Oyama berated Mitsuhiko. The hunter didn't bother to look at her.

-"The shoes are practically glued onto her legs. It's impossible she changed them"-

-"Then...then this is a different Lily! That'd explain it!"- Hosoya rubbed his lips. He was hoping to find anything to discredit Mitsuhiko, but the hunter merely scoffed.

-"Do you think it's possible Lily has lots of copies of her around? Monobear and her must have been bluffing earlier. It's impossible they have nine dodecahedrons or whatever number they had said earlier. This is the same Lily than before and I think this proves one thing beyond any doubt:

Lily is completely innocent!"-

Mimori crushed her notebook, her knuckles turning white. –"Of all people who could have...who could have argued..."-

-"So now that I have proved Lily had nothing to do with this what do you have to say, Mimori-san?"-

-" But what about the pearl? She was missing one and we found one in the hallway! That proves Lily was there, at least!"-

-"That only proves Lily was there at some point between this morning and when Yasumoto-san was found. It could have fallen at any point"-

-"...Oooooggh..."- Mimori grunted and threw the notebook to the floor –"Fine! Have it your way. Lily had nothing to do with the murder. Happy now?"-

-"Definitely no"- Mitsuhiko said glumly –"Clearing Lily's name doesn't help to find out who is the killer"-

-"I still think it's Kayano-san"- Kobayashi stated. Kayano rewarded him with a glare.

-" Since the killer's name is avoiding us for now there's something else we should talk about"- Yurie grabbed her huge ponytail, twirling it around –"Where did Yasumoto-san die?"-

-"There's no sense on discussing that"- Mitsuhiko brushed aside Yurie's question, but that didn't amuse Yurie at all.

**I INSIST**

-"Where did Yasumoto-san die?"-

-"But that was the most basic thing we argued already! We can't waste time on that"- Kishio protested.

-"There's no time limit. We may as well do that again. Somebody, answer that to me. I insist you do"-

-"I'll set straight everything"- Mitsuhiko intervened. _Yurie, we don't have any purpose on going back to such thing. Why are you going back to this point?_

* * *

Rebuttal Showdown

* * *

Missing Tooth / Baseball Bat / Pearl / Monobear File #1 / Kishio's Testimony

* * *

YURIE: The first thing we must define...

YURIE: ...is the place of the death

YURIE: Once we find the exact place...

YURIE: ...the rest of the puzzle will show itself.

MITSUHIKO: But we already found out where it happened!

MITSUHIKO: It's in the hall of Camp Lily!

YURIE: Is that so?

YURIE: Then if you know that already...

YURIE: ...why haven't you noticed **the problem**?

YURIE: Think about the body!

* * *

It didn't take long before Mitsuhiko realized what was going on. Yurie wasn't pretending to be stupid or anything. She was pointing to an enigma they had touched yet hadn't delved into. –"The Monobear File...that's answer, right?"-

-"What part, exactly?"-

-"The location! If Yasumoto-san died in Camp Lily why was her body found in the Lobby?"-

Yurie smiled, satisfied –"Thank you for indulging me, Mitsu-chan"-

-"I should have realized that"- Sasuga shook his head –"The culprit must have dragged the body there"-

-"And without leaving any drag marks. Whoever did it is pretty strong"- Mitsuhiko pointed.

-"Neither Kishio-sensei nor Kayano-san look pretty strong if you ask me"- Sugita said –"Takayama can't have done it because of the voice in the recording"-

-"...Kayano-san was a dancer. Wouldn't that give her a nice amount of strength?"- Kobayashi pointed. Once again Kayano glared at him, not grateful by being put on the spotlight again.

-" _Zle!_ Kayano-san is known for her endurance feats. I don't think dancing gives her strength"- Kishio replied –"I admit I'm kind of strong but that doesn't mean I'm the killer"-

-"I still think Kayano-san is the killer"-

-"Alright, I'm starting to lose my patience"- Kayano cracked her knuckles –"What do I have to do for you to stop suspecting me?"-

-"Show me your shoes. That should help clear you up"- Kobayashi commanded. Kayano rolled her eyes but lifted took off her shoes, practically throwing them to the illusionist. Kobayashi took one and with a determined look he took a glance at the soles. His determined expression fell down slowly while he looked closer and then rubbed the soles –"It can't be. Impossible..."-

-"Are you satisfied now?"-

Kobayashi returned the shoes to the owner –"The soles are made of an absorbent material, it's impossible she washed them or something...where did I go wrong?"-

-"Right, we're deviating from the point"- Emiko took off her cap, waving it in front of her face –"Why did the killer bring the body to the lobby?"-

-"It's obvious, isn't it? There can have been only one single reason:

* * *

_To frame Kobayashi_

_To make Kobayashi see the body_

_To fulfill the 'three people requirement'_

_To hide the body_

* * *

**_To fulfill the 'three people requirement'_ **

* * *

-"Remember what Lily said: three innocent people have to see the body so Monobear makes the announcement"-

-"I said that?"- Lily asked, more to herself than to the rest. Everybody ignored her, instead focusing on Mitsuhiko.

-"That's what happened; the culprit moved the body so Kobayashi-kun would see it and meet that purpose. But that brings a new problem: Kobayashi-kun didn't see a body, right?"-

-"The body definitely wasn't in the lobby, I would have seen it. It was right there in front of the stairs!"

-"If she had been laid anywhere else in the lobby we would have seen blood"- Sasuga pointed –"I can declare with certainty that she wasn't in any other place than the place we found it"-

* * *

Nonstop Debate

* * *

Hosoya's Testimony / Shallow Cuts / Monobear File #1 / Mitsuhiko's Note / Baseball Bat

* * *

SUGITA: I think it's clear **he saw the body**

SUGITA: That'd clear up the three people rule

YURIE: But if Kobayashi-kun had seen him...

YURIE: ... **then he'd have alerted everybody** , wouldn't he?

KOBAYASHI: Of course I would have!

FUKUYAMA: A clear contradiction!

FUKUYAMA: You think he's telling the truth?

KISHIO: He must be

KISHIO: **Nobody else** could be the first person to see the body

YURIE: The killer knew what Kobayashi-kun **_would do_**...

YURIE: ...and **_where he would be_**.

YURIE: But to me it's clear the killer wanted to **hide the body**

YURIE: Otherwise she would have left it in the hallway

ROMI: Agh! We're in an endless loop here!

* * *

-"Of course the killer knew what Kobayashi-kun would do"- Mitsuhiko frowned –"Once again the evidence brings us to those three plus the courier. It was the note, Yurie, they knew about it."-

-"And the killer tried to hide the body, as she knew Kobayashi-kun would be going to the Administrative Offices"- Yurie clarified.

-"Where was the body hidden, then?"- Kishio inquired.

-"Heck if I know. In the hallway to the Theater? Nobody checked there"-

-"I had gone to that hallway but the lighting was too dim"-

-"It could have been in a classroom, too"- Kishio suggested, pointing at herself –"Mine and Tanaka-san were the closest ones. Any would have been good enough"-

-"That's fine and all, Oyama-san, but again: Who. Saw. The. Body. First? If you can't answer that your reasoning crumbles under its own weight"- Kayano was starting to lose her patience. The debate was getting nowhere, at that rate they wouldn't define if it had been Kishio or Kayano.

-"I don't know! There must be something we overlooked, something we got wrong!"-

_This is stupid. Okay, from the beginning...let's suppose Amy was the first person to see the body. Why wouldn't he inform it? Did he have anything to gain from hiding its existence? Could he have been...an accomplice?_

_No, I don't think so. Amy doesn't have the guts to do that. Then what explanation is there?_

_Agh!_

_Fine, let's change the point of view! What did the killer do with the dead body? Hide it? It must have been hidden, otherwise Amy would have told somebody. Then..._

_...no, no, no! What's wrong with all this? Did Amy see the body, did he not, what?_

Mitsuhiko was very, very confused. No matter how he thought about that conundrum he couldn't think a way to clear it up. All perspectives led to the suspicion something strange was going on. For a moment the hunter tuned out of the debate while the rest argued about other details. He had the feeling that if he could solve that part they'd finish the trial in no time.

-"I got it! Of course, it's so simple!"-

Kobayashi had been the one who exclaimed that, stopping everybody else's discussions. Mitsuhiko raised his eyebrows, intrigued. –"What's so simple?"-

-"I understand everything, why we're stuck in that loop. Seriously, the answer is so simple I can't believe we didn't think of it before"-

-"Tell me you won't be like Mimori-san and taunt us without saying it"- Koshimizu tugged at his beard.

-"No, but first I'd like to be sure I know what I'm doing. Let's say this is the very core of the mystery: what if the culprit knew from the beginning Monobear's condition about finding the dead body?"-

-"Are you suggesting the killer made a plan to make you see the dead body?"- Takayama mulled it.

-"Exactly"-

-"But you had said you didn't see it. How does it work, then?"- Yurie narrowed her eyes.

-"Let's say I didn't see it...but I actually did see it. Both statements are undeniable truths, at least from what I know"-

-"That tells me nothing"- Emiko grumbled. Kobayashi ignored her, instead focusing on Monobear.

-"Monobear, if somebody asked you about that condition would you answer it with complete honesty?"-

-"Sure, why not?"- Monobear said without any worries –"It was just a question, I saw no harm on answering it"-

Kobayashi smiled –"Confirmed! You did get asked that!"-

-"That's nice, but can you say who did it?"- Kayano rubbed her eyes tiredly –"That's what I want to know"-

-"That's what I'm going to do now: find out who did it. And I know exactly how. Takayama-kun!"- Kobayashi exclaimed, startling Takayama. The bodyguard inquired what he wanted and Kobayashi practically shone in his determination. –"You planted microphones everywhere, didn't you?"-

-"I did, but if you're wondering if I heard anything, no, I didn't"-

-"That's not it. What I want to know is if anything has happened to those microphones. Are they all still in their places?"-

-"Lily destroyed some of them, I think only in Camp Lily. Other than that they're still intact"-

Kobayashi seemed to start losing confidence –"...are you sure nothing else has happened to them?"- _What's Amy looking for?_ But it reminded him something he had seen.

-"It's true Lily destroyed several microphones, but Monobear took one with him"- Mitsuhiko informed. As soon as Kobayashi heard that he recovered the enthusiasm he had lost.

-"Excellent! What if...what if Monobear has that microphone with him for a concrete reason: to allow whoever controls him to listen to us?"-

-"But that'd mean none of us sixteen controls him"- Romi pointed.

-"He had said he represented the Main Board. I don't want to believe it but the Main Board must be the ones behind the mutual killing game"- Sasuga stated, downcast.

-"Impossible! The Main Board nor Veritas would accept doing anything like a mutual killing game. Monobear must have lied!"- Takayama remarked vehemently, but before everybody could get into a discussion about Monobear and the Main Board Kobayashi tried to get the focus again.

-"As I was saying before I was interrupted: the Monobear stole that so whoever controls him could listen to us. That's what I think and therefore...Takayama's machines must have recorded the question.

The culprit must have been recorded by Monobear's microphone"-

The possibility of solving the crime by using Monobear's machinations against the culprit was an appealing perspective. It felt like some sort of poetic justice, catching the killer with the question that must have sparked the plan to kill Yasumoto. Over all that Monobear started laughing, first softly, but then it evolved into a full blown laugh. During the hubbub nobody noticed how the doors opened and closed softly, one person going outside.

-"Upupu...upupupu...knnnng...hahahahahaha!"-

-"Oh, come on! Why are you laughing in a moment like this?"- Mitsuhiko had a bad feeling of whatever made Monobear laugh. Surely he'd brag about how none of them would now be able to listen to the recordings, to crush their hopes to find an answer and make them despair over their 50% chances of making everybody die. Or maybe 100%, if neither Kishio or Kayano ended being the killer, even if that was very unlikely.

-"It's true I have the microphone with me at all times, but you can't think I'll give you the chance of bringing those recordings here. In fact I have half of my mind on ending the trial right here and push for the voting stage!"-

-"You can't be serious!"- Kishio shouted, standing up so quickly the chair fell down.

-"I am! Let's go ahead with the voting!"-

-"And what if we refuse?"- Mimori crossed her arms. Monobear's eyes glinted dangerously, making some of the commanders feel shivers down their backs.

-"Then the trial is not the only thing that's going to end here..."- _Since when Monobear acts so threateningly? Is the Main Board on such a hurry to end the trial?_

-"We'll have problems if we have to choose between one of those two. I don't know who is the culprit"- Hosoya spit on the floor. Just when the commanders were going to continue protesting Monobear's sudden will to end the trial right there the doors burst open, getting the attention of everyone present.

Lily had entered running despite the deep gash on her head. She was carrying a set of equipment Takayama recognized. –"My recorder!"-

-"Yes! Thank you Lily!"- Kobayashi quickly unloaded Lily from her burden, depositing the machines on the table, but as soon as he did Monobear climbed on the table, ready to attack.

-"I said we're ending the trial now!"-

-"Lily, we're in trouble. We need to keep Monobear away from the machines!"- Sasuga said urgently, taking one of the chairs and placing it in middle of the table. Kobayashi moved to the end opposite to Monobear and put on headphones Lily brought as well. Monobear unsheathed his claws and climbed on the chair, finding his path blocked by once another chair, held on the air.

-"Attacking me is against the rules, Sasuga-kun!"-

-"I'm not attacking you. As long as I don't touch you I'll be fine"-

-"Stop pushing your luck!"- Monobear said angrily and tried to climb the second chair, sparing Sasuga for now and focusing on the task he had: destroying the proof.

-"Keep him away until I finish listening. There are a lot of recordings but I think I can find it"- Kobayashi ordered. Lily got onto the table too, trembling. She was pretty weakened due to the effects of being attacked by Lily earlier, but that didn't stop her from trying to protect the evidence Kobayashi was trying to find. Lily revealed the glasses in both of her hands.

-"Everybody s-s-s-s-s-s-tep back!"- and just when Monobear had jumped from the top of the second table she swung her arm, hitting Monobear straight on the chest and knocking him off the table. Once the bear was down she aimed and fired her laser at the strongest intensity possible, but Monobear was much more agile than she had supposed. In no time Monobear rolled away, furious.

-"You won't stop me, Lily!"-

-"I need to do it"- she said, determined –"I must do it"-

-"Fine with me"- Monobear threw himself on the table while the graduates hurriedly got onto a safe place behind Lily. They knew it was likely she'd use her lasers liberally, as they seemed to be the only weapon she had. Although they were of almost the same size, with Monobear being the shortest one, Lily wasn't as agile or resistant. Although Lily tried to use her beams and left several scorch marks on the table and the walls, Monobear was almost untouched. The only time she managed to score a hit it only grazed him, filling the room for a moment with the smell of burnt felt.

Despite her disadvantages she was doing an excellent job keeping Monobear away, though. Every time the bear managed to approach a bit she used her lasers and sometimes her body to block the path, forcing him to go back. Soon she started to almost fall apart, being shredded over and over by Monobear's claws.

-"Nothing yet?!"- Mimori shouted at Kobayashi and threw her notebook, hitting Lily –"My bad!"-

-"Idiot! Monobear would have killed you!"- Kobayashi chastised her but still took the time to answer her question –"I'm starting to listen today's recordings. It shouldn't take me more than five minutes"-

-"I don't think she has five minutes of life left"- Emiko took a scrap of green steel from Lily's dress that had fallen nearby.

-"Silence, I'm trying to focus!"-

The fight continued and the commanders couldn't do anything else other than watching, as any help could be defined as 'attacking Monobear', for all they knew. Besides the lasers continued being fired, although with less aim and strength every time. Finally, when Monobear had striked Lily on a side and forced her to drop down Kobayashi stood up, disconnected the headphones and turned on the volume to the max.

Monobear stopped, caught by surprise by the voices in the recording. They were clear and identifiable. Just like Kobayashi had supposed it was undeniable evidence of a person's guilt.

* * *

'Monobear, if anybody were to be murdered, would it be inconvenient for you if the corpse was never found?'

'It would be! The mutual killing game relies on the trials. Without a body there can't be a trial'

'But if I hid the body what would you do?'

'Upupu...I'd drag it where everybody could see it, of course. My personal rules demand people see the body!'

'Personal rules? Is there a rule about finding the corpse?'

'There is. Three innocent people must see the body. Once they do I'll announce it and the investigation phase will start!'

'Three innocent people...allow me to confirm: it'll be only when the third person finds it. No sooner than that. Do you guarantee it?'

'It's a guarantee! It'll always be after the third person sees the body, no matter what happens'

* * *

Kobayashi stopped the recording there. There was silence for a moment until Monobear did a sound Mitsuhiko could only interpret as a sigh and put his claws away. –"I tried"- he muttered before returning to his seat on the far edge of the table. The commanders also returned to their respective seats, mulling what they had just listened. Among them the culprit was already cringing, knowing what was coming but tried to hide it.

Once everybody sat and had already analyzed what they had listened the silence was finally broken. –"That voice...we all know who it was"- Hosoya stated, forlorn.

-"It's unmistakable. The voice and the slightly flowery way of speaking..."- Yurie was pretty serious too. Maybe it was the shock of finally having the proof they needed to find the culprit, but everybody was serious and grave.

-"Look at the bright side"- Mimori said to Kobayashi, who had closed his eyes in satisfaction –"You were right after all"-

-"Looks like you're more competent than I thought, Kobayashi-kun..."- Yurie said briefly before turning to the culprit –"So, got anything to defend yourself, Kayano-san?

That was, without any doubt, your voice"-


	9. Chapter 1: The Flaw in Our Fortress Trial III

Kayano slowly took off the string of pearls on her arm and tangled it between her fingers, not saying anything. –"It's your voice, you did it!"- Mitsuhiko pointed at her.

-"...didn't your progenitor teach you it's rude to point at others?"- she muttered but didn't bother to try to fight back the evidence that had just been found. _It's her, it's obvious. We don't need to argue anymore._

**No Blood on the Shoes**

_Kayano showed the soles of her shoes. There was no blood to be found on them despite the absorbent material of the soles._

**Recording #3**

_A recording of Kayano asking Monobear about the rules regarding finding the dead body._

**Monobear's Microphone**

_Monobear took one of Takayama's microphones and has kept it since that moment._

While many of the commanders demanded to know why she had killed Yasumoto a few focused on the very mangled metallic body that lay on the table. Lily was almost as destroyed as the one Monobear had killed in the first day, when they had been gathered for the first time since the lockdown. Sasuga carefully took Lily's destroyed body, cradling it carefully. –"Is she dead?"- Romi inquired with some concern.

-"...not yet. I'm unfamiliar with the connections and the mechanisms of this robot but I think she's still...alive"- Sasuga picked up the pieces on the table –"I'll fix her once the trial is done"-

-"Because you're her creator"-

-"No, you asshole. I'm the only roboticist around. Her creator isn't going to step forward to fix her so it's up to me to do it"-

-"Why do you care about her? She was going to lock us here!"- Fukuyama protested, extending his arm towards Lily, but Sasuga turned his back to him.

-"She saved our lives! It's the least I could do. Besides she was already malfunctioning since the early parts of the trial, I want to find out why"-

-"If she was going to lock us so we kill each other why would she try to save our lives?"- Emiko tapped her chin, thoughtful –"I don't understand it"-

-"We won't ever know. Let's not harass her over it, okay?"-

Their attention got turned to the others, who were taking a breath before continuing their attack on the Dancing Demon. Taking the chance to fight back Kayano took a breath, still playing with her string. –"I admit I asked Monobear about that rule but that doesn't mean I killed her"-

-"Oh, come on! Why else would you ask him that?"- Kishio practically shouted.

-"I admit I had an interest on killing somebody and I was considering hiding the victim but I never went ahead with it"-

-"Bullshit. Nobody would fall for that"- Emiko crossed her arms. Kayano took a moment to glare at her before continuing.

-"Can you actually prove I asked him that already planning to kill Yasumoto-san? You can't, can you? Then you have to believe my words"-

-"Nobody will"- Koshimizu took a cigarette from his pocket, lighting it up. A few of the commanders made expressions of disgust but only Yurie told him to put it away.

-"I suppose so, but let me ask you something, then: how can I have gone into the Headquarters if I was outside?"-

-"We already discussed you entered while the others were gathered outside, that's no mystery"- Yurie curtly said, but Kayano instead smirked.

-"Right, but I can demonstrate I couldn't have done it. Will that be enough to convince you I have nothing to do with this death?"-

-"Try it if you can"- Koshimizu finally put down his cigarette and set down to listen to Kayano's argument –"We'll give you a chance"-

* * *

** Nonstop Debate **

* * *

_Kobayashi's Testimony / Wet Gray Clothes / Stone Torch / Baseball Bat / Malfunctioning Lighting_

* * *

MITSUISHI: Why to listen to her?

MITSUISHI: She's going to lie

KAYANO: Be silent and listen, because...

KAYANO: ...these will be facts and nothing else.

KAYANO: The weapon was that **baseball bat**

KAYANO: Which is usually located in **the courtyard shed**

KISHIO: We all know that already

KAYANO: So this is what you're insinuating:

KAYANO: I took the baseball bat and entered the headquarters

KAYANO: Am I correct?

HOSOYA: Of course

KAYANO: **I can't have taken that baseball bat**!

KAYANO: I stayed behind everybody else

KAYANO: And Sugita-san and Hosoya-kun **entered that shed**

KAYANO: If I had gone in they would have seen me.

SUGITA: She's right; **she didn't approach the shed**...

SUGITA: She didn't have a chance to take the bat...

KAYANO: Did that clear all suspicions?

* * *

-"Of course you took the bat, Kayano-san; it's useless to deny it"- Mitsuhiko took out his gun, examining it absentmindedly –"Your argument failed"-

Kayano narrowed her eyes but Sugita was the one who tried to counter –"But I'm completely sure she didn't get into the shed. I know I didn't see her!"-

-"Since when was it decided the bat was taken just before entering the headquarters?"- Emiko and Mitsuhiko asked at the same time, before the hunter allowed her to continue –"It could have done anytime between the question and before we all got called outside"-

-"But there's a flaw to that, one I don't think you had considered"- Kayano stretched the nylon thread of her string of pearls to its max capacity. While she was calm it was as if she was channeling her anger into the thread. –"The bedrooms where I could have hidden are not mine. Their owner could have been there at any point during the morning and people would have noticed if I had been stalking them. I couldn't have entered to hide the weapon of the crime and I definitely can't have got time to hide it anywhere else"- she twitched –"Tell me about that"-

-"That's no problem"- Mitsuhiko stared at the nylon thread. Something was nagging in his mind but he didn't understand what it was –"I could answer to that"-

**THEN DO IT**

Kayano's pressuring tone caught Mitsuhiko unguarded. He straightened up to Kayano's stare –"You mean right now?"-

-"Of course you must do it right now!"-

_Crap. I better order my thoughts quickly so they're coherent enough. I know exactly how it went but the hard part will be to convince everybody else. After all..._

_...it's possible several people saw the bat and didn't pay attention to it._

* * *

**Rebuttal Showdown**

* * *

_Blood in the Hallway / Stone Torch / Monobear File #1 / Recording #1 / Recording #2_

* * *

KAYANO: The culprit had the bat with them

KAYANO: And attacked Yasumoto-san with haste

KAYANO: It's very likely they had it with them...

KAYANO: ...inside the classroom they hid into.

KAYANO: But if it had been hidden there

KAYANO: The culprit would have been caught by...

KAYANO: ...the owner of that classroom used.

KAYANO: It's as simple as that!

MITSUHIKO: Then if the bat wasn't in a classroom...

MITSUHIKO: ...where would it be, then?

KAYANO: You tell me!

KAYANO: If it had been **anywhere in the hallway**...

KAYANO: ...Yasumoto-san would have seen it!

KAYANO: It can't have been hidden **anywhere else**

KAYANO: Or somebody would have found it

KAYANO: They carried it **when they entered the headquarters**

KAYANO: It's the only thing that makes sense

KAYANO: As you can see there's only one option.

KAYANO: Therefore I'm innocent!

* * *

-"I know where it was hidden. The killer hid the baseball bat in the hallway"- Mitsuhiko stated confidently. That seemed like a good place to start.

-"Are you deaf? I already said Yasumoto-san would have seen it if it had been there"- Kayano made a clear gesture of barely restrained rage.

-"The bat was placed so it wouldn't really be seen. She'd see it but wouldn't see it"- Mitsuhiko pointed at several commanders –"Between the classrooms there are some stone statues. Kayano-san used one of them to hide the bat, taking off a stone torch one was holding and placed the bat there.

Easy access for the moment she murdered Yasumoto-san!"-

-"That can't be...somebody would have noticed the statue was different"- Koshimizu frowned, trying to remember if he had noticed anything different in the statues of the hallway.

-"The stone torch of that statue must have been taken off at some point during the morning. If nobody really paid attention to the statues to know how they looked then it's likely nobody would notice"- Emiko supported that theory.

-"It's an aluminum baseball bat; its gray color would have made it blend into the stone. It wouldn't stand out to anybody who passes near it"- Mitsuhiko added

-"But if Hikari-kun noticed then somebody else must have"- Mitsuishi argued –"A torch and a baseball bat are very different"-

-"But if anybody had noticed they would have done something"- Takayama pointed –"Kayano-san got the bat there, nobody saw it"-

-"Besides Romi-san is the one who noticed the statue changed and that was only because there was nothing in the statue's hand, that was after the murder"- Mitsuhiko finished the argument. The commanders briefly discussed the implications of it.

-"The blind woman was the one who saw something was amiss with the statues"- Kishio commented –"That doesn't speak well of all of us"-

-"But that doesn't point at me"- Kayano decided it was time to intervene again –"Anybody could have put that bat on the statue's hand"-

Mitsuhiko and Kobayashi grunted. She was right; it wasn't concrete evidence against Kayano. For all they knew, say, Mitsuishi was the one to do it. They needed to take a new perspective of the crime. –"Can you prove you were outside the whole time?"- Mimori bit her knuckles.

-"...I think I can"- Kayano put the pearls string on the table –"There was this incident I saw. If I tell exactly what happened will you believe me?"-

-"T-The incident? Do you mean...?"- Mitsuhiko felt nervous there. _If Kayano managed to describe what Hosoya had done then that meant she was outside...most likely. I need to listen carefully and see if that fits what I know._

* * *

** Nonstop Debate **

* * *

_Hosoya's Testimony_

* * *

KAYANO: It started **a while after we all went outside**

KAYANO: **Sugita-san** entered the shed with Hosoya-kun

KAYANO: What happened in there was...nasty...

KAYANO: It ended with **everything strewn around**

EMIKO: Don't think you can get away with being vague!

KAYANO: I'm not going to be vague

KAYANO: I know very well Hosoya-kun...

KAYANO: ...Hosoya-kun...

KAYANO: ... **tried to force himself** upon her.

KAYANO: We all stood still for a moment, shocked

KAYANO: But once we recovered **we tried to help her**

KOSHIMIZU: **I quickly isolated him**

KOSHIMIZU: But I think **she wouldn't see it**

SASUGA: That's what had happened, more or less

ROMI: Could she have been outside, after all?

* * *

There were several points to consider, but only one stood out to Mitsuhiko. The hunter thought for a moment, thinking carefully about what Hosoya had told him. It wasn't long before he remembered what had been wrong in Kayano's testimony...or at least vague. –"Sounds like what I know, Kayano-san, but there's only one thing I'd like to ask:

Who, exactly, tried to help Sugita-san?"-

Kayano raised her eyebrows –"Uh, what do you mean?"-

-"You said 'we tried to help her'. Who is 'we'?"- Mitsuhiko leaned forward. He felt like he was going to strike a bullet into his prey, Kayano was looking more and more like an animal in mortal danger.

-"We-Well, it was...Takayama-kun, he wanted to protect her...and Koshimizu-san tried to get away Hosoya-kun...and..."- the more she talked the softer it was, until she shut up. It was obvious she wasn't going to be able to fake who had gone to help Sugita.

After all, she hadn't seen it.

-"There are so many things wrong with that I can't even start with one"- Sasuga stated –"She's lying; I was the only one who went to help her"-

-"But she didn't see it because..."- Kishio started but didn't finish the sentence, instead Fukuyama said it hurriedly.

-"...because she was in the Headquarters! It's so clear!"-

Kayano once again took her string of pearls, twirling it around as quickly as possible, as if she wanted nothing aside from strangling Mitsuhiko with it. –"I...what can I say? I don't know..."-

-"A confession would be nice. You killed Yasumoto-san!"- Fukuyama demanded. Kayano scoffed in a way unfit for a lady, and slammed the table.

-"I didn't kill her! Come on, don't let yourselves be misled. There's one last point nobody has explained yet, and it's the key to the case!"-

-"But we demonstrated you weren't outside, that should be enough to vote for you"- Romi stated.

-"Even if I went outside that doesn't explain the inconsistency everybody has been wondering about: the dead body! Did Kobayashi-kun see it? Did he?!"-

-"He didn't. He already said it several times"- Yurie crossed her arms. In that moment Kobayashi sighed as if he were going to dread what he was going to say.

-"Actually I saw Yasumoto's dead body. Sorry for the confusion everybody"-

-"But you had said you didn't see it! You were sure you didn't!"- Sasuga pointed at him, ready to argue with him. Kobayashi sighed, trying to calm him down.

-"I know, I know. It's that I didn't understand it until just a while ago. We all forgot one possibility about what happened"-

-"Okay, what do you mean?"- Sugita inquired.

-"It's just like it sounds: I saw the body but I didn't realize I saw it. It's no wonder I was the first to realize it, after all...

...an illusionist isn't the only one who can create illusions"-

A sudden epiphany came over Mitsuhiko. Of course! Kobayashi had seen the corpse, after all! –"Why didn't you say it earlier, Amy?"-

-"Because it wasn't directly related to Kayano-san. It wasn't proof against her"-

-"It's because you can't prove it was me!"- Kayano interjected, reddening.

-"I don't have to. It was already proven that you entered the Headquarters and that you had the chance to kill her. That's more than enough to vote for you"-

Kayano laughed bitterly –"Come on! You don't want to talk about it because it can't be linked to me"-

-"Actually..."- Mitsuhiko started –"It can. I can link the illusion to you. Let me do it, okay?"-

-"Sure, why not? Let's give it a chance. Come on, Hikari-kun, show me where your reasoning leads you to! How do you explain this enigma?"-

-"It's simple. Amy..."-

* * *

_...is an accomplice_

_...didn't see the body_

_...saw the dead body without realizing it_

_...saw the dead body and lied about it_

* * *

**...saw the dead body without realizing it**

* * *

-"It's like Amy said. It's an illusion. The rule Monobear mentioned is undeniable, three people must have seen it, and it only can have been Amy, Yurie and me. So how could that happen? Simple:

Amy saw the body but didn't recognize it as Yasumoto's corpse!"-

-"...It'd be great if you stopped calling me Amy..."- Kobayashi muttered. Kayano got pale, sinking in her seat slowly. That was all the confirmation Mitsuhiko needed to know he was in the right path.

-"Wait how can he confuse a dead body with anything else?"- Sugita asked. Kayano straightened up and pounced on that.

-"Yes, she's right! How can that be possible? Nothing can look like a corpse and not alarm anybody!"-

-"Amy is an illusionist, that's why he understood how it was: you showed him the corpse and made it look like it wasn't that"-

-"Y-Y-Y-You're not making any sense. It doesn't make any sense!"- Kayano was already sweating heavily, her curled hair starting to straighten down from all the times she had started pulling it in the last five minutes. Mitsuhiko sighed, she was resorting to stuttering and trying to deny without arguments.

What did people call when that happened? Desperation?

* * *

** Panic Talk Battle **

* * *

KAYANO: T-The mere thought of that...

KAYANO: Preposterous!

KAYANO: A corpse is a corpse that is a corpse!

KAYANO: There's n-n-n-nothing that could work!

KAYANO: Have you lost your freaking mind?!

KAYANO: Blood! Flesh! How do you hide that?

KAYANO: Impo-impossible!

KAYANO: You can't pin that on me

KAYANO: Kobayashi-kun is not an idiot

KAYANO: You're bluffing, right? Right?!

* * *

**Statues on the Fountain**

* * *

-"...I finally saw it. The pieces of evidence I couldn't fully link to the murder...I finally see how they got involved in this. This all starts with the location of the body: why did Kayano-san move the corpse to the lobby?

The answer was to make Amy see it and fulfill Monobear's rule. Kayano-san finished it and left the body where she had done that part of her plan"-

-"But you haven't said what she did, exactly"- Emiko pointed, impatient.

-"She disguised Yasumoto-san's dead body as one of the statues in the fountain. It's the same principle than the baseball bat in the hallway statues!"-

-"So you got to the same conclusion I did, Hikari-kun"- Kobayashi nodded –"I didn't have any proof to tell everybody, to be honest. Did you say you do?"-

-"I do"-

-"Impossible. That's impossible! You c-c-can't"- Kayano messed with her own hair, trying to get it back to its usual state –"For starters: how do you think I could hold a dead body against the fountain?"-

-"She's right. Propping it against the statues on the fountain would risk it falling and ruining everything, there must have been some way for her to hold the body"-

-"She did. It's all explained by this:

* * *

Monobear File #1

Missing Tooth

Shallow Cuts

Baseball Bat

Water in the Fountain

Recording #1

Recording #2

Blood in the Hallway

Kobayashi's Testimony

Pearl

Malfunctioning Lighting

Stone Torch

Kishio's Testimony

Kayano's Testimony

Wet Gray Clothes

Theater Makeup

Mitsuhiko's Note

Hosoya's Testimony

Recording #3

Monobear's Microphone

No Blood on the Shoes

* * *

**Shallow Cuts**

* * *

-"Koshimizu-san, you examined the dead body. What was what you found that was unusual?"-

-"She had a missing tooth and horizontal cuts on the arms"- informed the Medical Demon, pointing at his own arms and trailing how they looked.

-"No way. Are you saying the tooth is the clue here?"- Kishio wondered, trying to imagine how a tooth would be involved in this. Mitsuhiko resisted the urge to facepalm, as he considered Kishio to be a bit smarter than that.

-"No, Kishio-sensei, it's the cuts. They're the trace Kayano's trick left on the body and it shows how she kept the body standing:

If I had to guess I'd say she stood on the side of the fountain Amy wouldn't see and used nylon threads like the ones in the pearl strings to hold the body while Amy walked through"-

-"But would she be able to hold the body like that?"- Kishio asked. Mitsuhiko nodded, confident

-"Again, she may not be one with lots of strength but she's known for her stamina. She'd be able to resist for as long as needed"-

-"But holding the body wouldn't be enough!"- Mitsuishi claimed –"Nothing on Yasumoto-san was gray, nobody would believe she was a statue"-

-"That's why Kayano-san used more pieces of evidence to complete the illusion. Take a look at this"-

* * *

Monobear File #1

Missing Tooth

Shallow Cuts

Baseball Bat

Water in the Fountain

Recording #1

Recording #2

Blood in the Hallway

Kobayashi's Testimony

Pearl

Malfunctioning Lighting

Stone Torch

Kishio's Testimony

Kayano's Testimony

Wet Gray Clothes

Theater Makeup

Mitsuhiko's Note

Hosoya's Testimony

Recording #3

Monobear's Microphone

No Blood on the Shoes

* * *

**Wet Gray Clothes**

* * *

-"And also this"-

* * *

Monobear File #1

Missing Tooth

Shallow Cuts

Baseball Bat

Water in the Fountain

Recording #1

Recording #2

Blood in the Hallway

Kobayashi's Testimony

Pearl

Malfunctioning Lighting

Stone Torch

Kishio's Testimony

Kayano's Testimony

Wet Gray Clothes

Theater Makeup

Mitsuhiko's Note

Hosoya's Testimony

Recording #3

Monobear's Microphone

No Blood on the Shoes

* * *

**Theater Makeup**

* * *

Mitsuhiko showed the objects he had left on the table. –"This gray makeup was enough to do the job of disguising Yasumoto's skin, while the hat and the large sleeveless overcoat covered the rest. It's that simple"-

-"You had said the water in the fountain was dirty"- Romi pointed –"It's because Kayano-san washed the corpse there, right?"-

-"Exactly. So are we done with this, Kayano-san? I'd like to go to voting now"-

-"This can't be happening, there's no way this is happening to me..."- Kayano murmured to herself, closing her eyes.

-"I'll take that as you accepting your fate. So, do any of you still have any doubts Kayano-san is guilty?"-

-"That can't be, she's clearly guilty"- Kobayashi shrugged, but just to his chagrin Fukuyama and Emiko raised their hands. Mitsuhiko pinched the bridge of his noise.

-"Of course there's always a pair of dunces who don't get it yet. Okay, let's make clear what happened, alright?"-

* * *

** Climax Inference **

* * *

_The plan the culprit hatched started when the rumors of Yurie and I's plan started to spread. Yasumoto told it to the three people she trusted the most: Takayama, Kishio and the culprit. Yasumoto was confident she'd be able to stop us and to do that plan she formed a scheme with her three comrades to push everybody outside so she'd be able to work without interruptions. However the culprit took advantage of that to create a plan of her own: to murder Yasumoto._

_Takayama, Kishio and the culprit went outside, but at the first chance the culprit ran back into the Headquarters, going to Camp Lily and hiding in a classroom nearby Amy's bedroom with all the implements she'd need. There she waited for Yasumoto to talk with Amy, and once her victim finished the conversation and started walking to meet me and Yurie, the culprit sprang into action, running out of the classroom and grabbing the baseball bat she had previously concealed in one of the statues._

_The murder was carried out quickly. Three hits with the baseball bat later, Yasumoto died. Having finished the first part of the plan the culprit started the second: disguise the body. To do this she carried Yasumoto's body to the Lobby, disguised it to resemble one using gray clothes and makeup and went to lure Amy outside of the bedroom so he'd meet his fate with me and Yurie. She only had around fifteen seconds but that was enough. Using nylon threads held it among the statues on the fountain in the Lobby, holding it for enough time for Amy to see it and walk into the hallway to the Administrative Offices._

_Having made Amy see the body the culprit let the body fall into the fountain and washed the makeup, leaving the corpse there in middle of the Lobby all soaked. After this the culprit returned outside, having finished her macabre plan._

_Unfortunately for her a series of circumstances led to her plan being found out. Our investigation almost didn't bear any fruit, if it hadn't been for the effort Amy did. And so thanks to him we can say with certainty:_

_Harumi Kayano! You're the culprit!_

* * *

Kayano slumped on her seat, completely defeated. –"Yes. I acknowledge you got everything you said correctly. I...I murdered her"-

-"Wait, there's something else, right?"- Mitsuishi asked –"I'm one who knows the subtleties of words and I think there's something you haven't said yet. Am I right?"-

-"You're right. There's something you overlooked, Hikari-kun, Kobayashi-kun: the pearl. It's mine"-

-"But you had all your pearls, both in your string and in your pouch"- Takayama pointed, unsure of where that was going"- Kayano didn't reply, instead she slid the backup pouch to Mitsuhiko.

-"And I thought I had been lucky nobody gave a closer look to the pearls...I suppose it doesn't matter now"-

Curious, Mitsuhiko took the pouch and opened it, pouring all the pearls on the table. It took him a couple minutes to find what was wrong. The hunter took a concrete pearl, holding it in front of him to stare at it carefully. –"Is this what I think it is?"-

-"Yasumoto-san defended herself after the first blow...she managed to tear down my pearl string. It was a nightmare to look for the pearls in that dark hallway; especially since several got stained with blood and I had to wash them later. Imagine my frustration when I only found nine pearls!"-

-"And you took the only thing you could think could pass for a pearl, something of an approximate size: a tooth, right?"- Effectively, one of the pearls was a tooth. The discolored gray of the tooth was different to the pearls, but with a passing glance nobody would notice. However it was round and jagged, like a very imperfect pearl.

-"I found it while I was going for the pearls. I used my drill to turn it into a rough sphere when I had a bit of time. I thought that with some luck nobody would notice, and since Romi-san had those gloves I supposed she wouldn't feel the difference between a pearl and the tooth. I was so close to do this all right..."-

-"What about your shoes? There was no blood on them"- Sasuga inquired.

-"These are not the only shoes I own. The ones I had before did get stained with blood"-

-"But why did you kill her? That's what I don't understand. You two seemed like good partners in your awkward quest of trying to get us to get along"- Yurie asked, resting her chin on her hands.

-"...I fell for her silvery words at the beginning too, but I saw the light. It's impossible she was going to be of any help to us"-

-"How can you say that? She was doing everything she could to help us, you should know it!"- Takayama protested, taking off his glasses with sadness. Kayano shook her head condescendingly, as if she knew something the rest didn't.

-"Do you really think a DeeEy commander would do such thing as do something with no further intention? I know what she was thinking. She was going to get us all calm and nice, so she could strike and take the spot in the Main Board for herself"-

-"She...she wouldn't do that..."- Kobayashi fretted; starting to turn again into the relatively insecure newbish commander they knew.

-"Do you even have proof of that?"- Hosoya asked.

-"I don't but I think it's obvious all of you fell for her mind games. For commanders you're all hopelessly naive, you know"-

-"More like you were paranoid"- Mimori muttered, writing in her notebook.

-"I'm sure Yasumoto-san's kindness was genuine"- Emiko said with honesty –"She's the only one who made the effort to calm me down. I was scared witless when I got here, locked in middle of fight between potentially ruthless murderers. But Yasumoto-san met me and...she convinced me I would be okay. That I'd be protected. She set me with Kouhei-kun because we were both afraid of dying and...it was thanks to her and Kouhei-kun that I decided I wasn't going to let myself be killed.

Yasumoto-san was kind and pure. You killed the only person who could do anything to keep order in this place, the only one who was willing to get in middle of a murder plan to save one person and get two potential killers to give up without hurting anybody"- Emiko finished her tirade with a sigh, putting her cap over her eyes. –"You're a moron"-

Kayano stared at her blankly until she took off her string of pearls and left it on the table –"Maybe you're right, or maybe I'm the one who's right. We won't ever know. Yasumoto-san was trying to build a metaphorical fortress using us four as the cornerstones but she made the mistake of not making sure the cornerstones were willing to follow her without question. That was the flaw in our fortress"-

There was silence for a moment until Monobear finally decided to end the trial. Curiously he didn't have any enthusiasm; he talked as if it was a great bother to do it. –"Let's go into the voting phase. Please say the name of the person you think is the culprit and let's get done with this"-

-"Voting verbally? I expected something like marking the culprit's name in an electronic pad or something"- Sugita commented.

-"Forget that and just do it"- Monobear grouched, crossing his arms. It didn't take look before everybody, Kayano included, named the Dancing Demon as the culprit. As soon as the last commander voted Monobear said in a hurry: "What a surprise, you got it right. Kayano-san is the culprit of this murder and as such is going to be executed"-

-"You mean here and now?"- Takayama stood up, his eyes widened.

-"Of course not! We have a special place for that. So come with me, Kayano-san"-

-"'Come with me?' You don't even have a way to force the culprit to be executed?"-

-"We were in a hurry to set up the mutual killing game, okay?"- Monobear grabbed Kayano's arm, showing his claws so she'd know what would happen if she refused. Either way she was doomed. Mitsuhiko didn't miss the 'we' or the fact that Monobear was very unprepared for his mutual killing game, but wasn't exactly sure of the meaning of it all. Kayano and Monobear strolled through the door. –"Everybody else must stay here until we're done"- he ordered before closing the doors.

The commanders sat around uneasily for several minutes before a screen descended from the ceiling, covering almost the whole back wall of the Meeting Room. –"Are we going to see the execution through there?"- Yurie wondered, staring at the screen with attention. Her question was answered instantly when it turned on, showing the Theater.

* * *

** Spring Play: Bear Lake **

_When the curtains opened everybody could see the Theater had a very detailed background depicting a lake, and in front of it there were several Monobears in different positions, completely still. A spotlight shined in the center, where a single Monobear had appeared, wearing a leotard, making some of the commanders smile in amusement. Behind him there was a tall pillar, ascending up to the ceiling._

_Piano music started and all the Monobears started dancing with strange grace despite their shape and size. It was almost hypnotic but it didn't last long, just around ten seconds before smoke filled the Theater. When the smoke dissipated everybody could see Kayano completely immobilized against the pillar, wearing a leotard that resembled the one Monobear had been wearing before._

_All the Monobears in the scenario brought up what would be the weapons to execute her, and Kayano didn't seem amused to see it: baseball bats. As if it had been carefully choreographed for quite a long time, each Monobear approached with some jumps and swung their bat, hitting Kayano with a lot of strength. Kayano lost her breath each time, and much to everybody's surprise they could hear the bones breaking with every hit. Kayano was crying silently, unable to scream or say anything, and soon after all the Monobears in the scenario had attacked her she was left bloodied and battered, untied from the pillar. She was unable to stand up and run away from the pain._

_The last part of her execution happened. One last Monobear, wearing a crown and what seemed like a prince costume, approached the wheezing commander, raising his bat over his head. It was clear that whoever planned the execution knew very well what they were doing. That last Monobear first attacked Kayano's chest again, making her bend in pain. Then it was to the face, breaking her nose. And finally...to the head, being the last blow._

_Mercifully the screen didn't stay on an image of Kayano's dead body, and soon went into a blank screen._

* * *

Mitsuhiko was speechless about the amount of pain Monobear, and the Main Board, had made Kayano suffer before dying. It seemed to him unnecessary sadism and but it was a clear warning for her and anybody:

The people behind Monobear weren't going to hesitate killing them with as much blood as possible. They were _sadists_. –"Too cruel...that was too cruel..."-

-"Shooting somebody to death seems cruel to me"- Fukuyama muttered, having heard Mitsuhiko. He didn't seem very affected by the execution.

-"It was going to be an instant death! I'm a hunter but every bullet I shoot is aimed to cause instant deaths"-

-"In moments like this I'm glad I'm blind"- Romi cringed; the sounds had been more than enough to know what was going on.

-"She...she deserved it. She killed Yasumoto-san for a stupid reason, she deserved it"- Sugita said. Mitsuhiko was surprised to see the usually kind Tea Demon saying somebody deserved an excruciating death like that one.

-"And now what? Can we leave now?"- Mitsuishi stood up just before Monobear entered. The bear, apparently still in bad mood, was brief.

-"Scram, bastards. We're done here"- he said before going away. Slowly the commanders left tthe Meeting Room, discussing between themselves what they should do. That night when they gathered for dinner Kishio took a moment to stand up and get everybody's attention.

-"We...we all know what happened today. Yasumoto-san was murdered, but we can't let that drag us from now on"-

-"What do you suggest we do now, then?"- Yurie asked, as if she expected her to say something stupid.

-"Being kind and orderly didn't work. Somebody still attacked with no hesitation, so we're going to try a different approach now:

We're going to deal with this like Diavolos Avante commanders. We're people who do what must be done. Let this be a fight for us to take the prize.

From now on it's each of us for ourselves, and for that we're going to take some measures. Koshimizu-san has proposed something, so let's listen to him"-

The aged Medical Demon stood up while Kishio sat back down, and spoke gravely. –"First than all we're going to proceed to get rid of the people who must be kept away from others. Hosoya-kun, Hikari-kun and Oyama-san. You'll each be placed in a cell.

-"A cell? But there's no place for us to keep them locked"- Kobayashi pointed.

-"False, in the second floor that was opened there are three classrooms that can be locked. I'll keep the keys with me at all times"- Koshimizu raised three keys –"One for each of you, and you'll be taken there as soon as we finish this meeting.

-"We can go to the second floor now?"- Hosoya asked.

-"Yeah, the shutters at the end of the right hall in Camp Lily has been opened now. You just have to walk, turn around the bend twice and you'll enter the new areas"- Mitsuishi indicated and grinned mockingly –"Not that you'll have time to take a look. I'm glad dangerous people like you will be away from us normal people"-

-"I'd like to see you forcing me into a cell"- Mitsuhiko said threateningly, one hand on his gun. Koshimizu shook his head, approaching.

-"By the way, you'll give me that gun of yours. No more guns for you"- he said without stopping. Suddenly Romi grabbed him in a tight hug, immobilizing his arms. Mitsuhiko tried to get away from her, but Romi didn't let go and Koshimizu took the chance. The Medical Demon took the gun, looking at it carefully.

-"I see, I'm going to keep this from now on. Let's take them in"- Koshimizu put the gun in his pocket, satisfied, and soon the three commanders who were going to be locked away got dragged. Yurie went almost willingly, as if she was confident they wouldn't really do it. Gosoya kicked all the way out but Koshimizu grabbed his legs, stopping him. Mitsuhiko grumbled but silently planned how to escape the problem they were in.

What Mitsuishi had said was true, the shutters were open. The commanders that were leading them opened a few doors, rudely pushing each prisoner in them. Mitsuhiko was pushed into one but didn't have time to fight before the door was closed and locked. He had heard the key but he refused to believe it was all over there. He tried to open the door but after a while he had to accept it was impossible. Giving up Mitsuhiko examined the classroom that now was his cell.

It was mostly like his classroom down on the first floor, but it didn't have sleeping bags or boxes with stuff. It didn't even have a bathroom. It definitely wasn't a place to stay for long. The windows were of simple glass but they couldn't be unlocked and Mitsuhiko was sure that if he broke one somebody would be alerted and he'd get locked again, in a different place.

_Fuck them, all of them. I'm not going to let this stay this way. I shouldn't even help them_ he thought bitterly. He still was completely sure there was something very wrong going on with Monobear and the Main Board, but this time he was going to keep it to himself. Those ungrateful commanders wouldn't hear a word about it now.

Lying on the floor Mitsuhiko closed his eyes, tired. Despite everything he hated the situation he was in. Sure, he wasn't going to kill anybody but that didn't mean he was happy. _I wish...I wish I were back in those simple and happy days._ He hated his situation.

If only he could go back to being Hikaru Mitsuhide and erase the chain of events that led to being a Diavolos Avante commander with a different name instead of a graduate with the title of Super High School Level Hunter...then maybe everything would be better.

-ooooo-

Sasuga had taken Lily's almost crumbling body to his bedroom. He was determined to fix her, that was his way to be grateful for the help she had given during the trial. He was sure that if there was anybody in that building who could return her to normal it was him.

Carefully taking the tools he had received along with his classroom he separated Lil's head from the neck, looking inside. There was something among the processors and the wires inside Lily's head. –"What do we have here...?" Sasuga carefully shook the head, trying to dislodge the object and directing it into the large gash. It didn't take long before it fell out. –"Eh?"-

The truth is that he had the hunch that was the object; it seemed like the only possible thing. However supposing and confirming were different concepts. Either way the gash Monobear made _during_ the trial was the only way such object could have gotten into Lily's head, making her malfunction. –"...How curious...I wonder..."-

It was a pearl.

-ooooo-

-"I can't believe we couldn't do it. We had it right in our hands, how did we miss?"-

Wolfenmaus was walking from one side to other, ranting about how everybody was still alive. The two Accomplices were watching him, having the good grace to look embarrassed. Valkyrie was busy tying her hair into twin tails, while Vieiras pouted in front of a mirror.

-"At least I did something"- the Second Accomplice muttered, pointing at the First with their thumb –"I had to do everything while this idiot simply watched"-

-"What did you expect me to do?"- the First grumbled back.

-"Anything! You must help us make sure somebody gets into the Main Board"-

-"I will later, really"- the First went to Valkyrie –"So what now?"-

-"What do you think? We continue trying, of course"-

-"I wish my hair were longer"- Vieiras muttered, going towards the arsenal that was on one side of the Main Board Meeting Room. There was quite a collection of guns and weapons, with only one section empty. –"We still haven't found the missing gun"-

-"Missing gun?"- the Second asked, approaching. Vieiras pointed at the gun directly to the side.

-"One identical to this one. It went missing the day before everybody arrived, somehow. We had thought Veritas had it but he didn't"-

-"Seems familiar to me"- the Second Accomplice could swear they had seen it before, and it didn't take long before they realized exactly where. –"...I can tell you where it is"-

The gun Vieiras had pointed to was a Twin M9 Beretta.

**Chapter 1: The Flaw in Our Fortress**

**END**


	10. Chapter 2: Locked

Mitsuhiko awoke when he heard somebody knocking on the door. Feeling like he hadn't slept at all the hunter rubbed his head. The floor was definitely not a good place to sleep, his back was aching, he could feel his neck almost creaking and overall he felt terrible. The fact he was being awoken at such an early time, at least he thought, didn't help to improve his mood. –"What the fuck do you want?"-

-"Hikari-kun, these doors have a little slot on them"- to demonstrate it the person opened it from outside, pushing the slot open and waving their hand.

-"Cool. Now go away"-

-"We have your breakfast"- a different voice sounded, one Mitsuhiko knew well. Somewhat intrigued he stood up, hating how his muscles felt cramped, and walked to the door to see who was there.

Sasuga had been the one to open the slot, as Kobayashi had in his hands a big tray. –"Hi guys. Thank you"- Kobayashi passed the tray with the food through the slot. It looked rather delicious, obvious sign Sugita was still cooking. Grateful, Mitsuhiko asked with feigned indifference –"I'm surprised to see you here, Amy. Why are you here?"-

-"I, uh, I...how to say it..."-

-"As much as I dislike it he has forgiven you for the attempted murder. He specifically said he wanted to see you"- Sasuga quickly said. Mitsuhiko raised his eyebrows.

-"Amy, you're an idiot. I'm an evil man and I don't have redeeming traits. Why to forgive me like this?"- Hah! As if.

Kobayashi clutched his hands. It seemed to Mitsuhiko the young illusionist was a different person outside of the trial and during the trial. This was the usual Kobayashi he knew: a bashful commander who didn't seem fitting for an organization like Diavolos Avante. –"I...I'm not in condition of hating you. I can't afford to hate you. If I do...I fear I'm going to snap and kill you at some point...or you'll kill me later"-

-"As if we're going to let him out of this cell"- Sasuga sighed.

-"We will, we can't keep them locked for too long. These classrooms are no place for staying. Why did Veritas remodel these doors to lock and have this slot? Did he really expect to take prisoners or something?"-

-"It'd be nice if I'm let out soon"- Mitsuhiko piped up –"This place doesn't even have a bathroom"-

Sasuga showed his teeth in a very cheerful grin –"That reminds me! Koshimizu-san is sending you a little something to make your stay in this cell a bit easier. He knew these don't have a bathroom so he asked me to give you this. Enjoy!"- Sasuga passed a bedpan through the slot. Mitsuhiko took it, scowling.

-"This is not funny"-

-"Don't look at me like that! Koshimizu-san was the one who had this idea. I don't know if you have noticed but he loathes you three. Just fifteen minutes ago he was saying he wished he could give you three a good beating for daring to disturb the peace and order"-

Mitsuhiko felt his throat drying. Koshimizu definitely wasn't a weakling. If he attacked anybody with his hands it was sure it'd hurt a lot. Even if he was twenty years older than Mitsuhiko he wasn't sure he could stop him if he decided to teach him a lesson. –"A bedpan. I repeat, this is not funny"-

-"I have to go for now. I haven't finished fixing Lily, after all"- and with that Sasuga and Kobayashi started going away.

-"Wait, Sasuga-kun! Who is going to pick up the bedpan and empty it from time to time?"-

-"Do you seriously think anybody is going to come and pick up the bedpans we gave to you three? You have a window there; it should have a slot too. Use it to throw away any content"-

-"We should tell the others to stay away from that side of the courtyard..."- Kobayashi suggested, getting a smirk from Sasuga.

-"We will. Either way, people will come later. Believe it or not despite your attempted murder most of the commanders are thankful for your effort in the trial. Kayano-san would have gotten away with her crime if it hadn't been for you and Kobayashi-kun"- and they left. Mitsuhiko threw the bedpan aside in disgust. The foreseeable future definitely didn't seem kind to him.

-ooooo-

Just as Sasuga had said the window had a slot too, however that didn't help to calm him wasn't big enough to escape or get any help. For all he cared he still was completely locked in the cell.

After a while somebody knocked at the door again. Opening the slot Mitsuhiko looked outside and gasped. –"Lily! You look like new!"-

Lily smiled. She looked almost angelic in that moment. –"Not thanks to you, Hikari-kun. But I'm fixed. Sorry to hear you're locked"-

-"As if this cell will be able to keep myself locked for too long"- the hunter said, not believing what he was saying. Lily shrugged, so there was silence for a moment. –"I see you took off the pearls"-

-"Apparently one was what caused my malfunctions during the trial. I don't know how it got into my head but it must have been Monobear"-

-"So why are you here?"- Lily wasn't going to visit him just because, he supposed. There must be an underlying reason for that. Lily nodded, opening her horns. One was to project a video, the other was a speaker.

-"It'll be a bother to repeat it three times so I recorded my voice. Pay attention to this"- the image changed to a video of a hallway, Mitsuhiko recognized it as the hallway with the cells they were locked in. The video seemed to have been recorded early that day. –"Good morning prisoners. I figured it could be useful to inform you what has been opened. As you all know the second floor is now fully accessible. Let's take a look around..."- just on the other corner of the hallway the place turned into a big room, which seemed to be the center of the floor. There were stained glass windows, pouring colors into the room. On one side there were stairs, and when Lily descended them to open them Mitsuhiko could see they led to the Back Courtyard. –"The second floor has two entrances: this door and the stairs near the classroom cells. This place is a Lounge, where the students used to sit around and spend time together. It also was a hub to the places of this floor.

If the first floor was for classrooms, the second is for workshops. We'll check what type of workshops we find here!"- Lily entered through the first door. –"This is the Carpentry Workshop. There are lots of tools and lumber, which you'll find on the walls. There's no storehouse for this stuff" the visit to the Carpentry Workshop was quite brief, Mitsuhiko knew this was only to show a more or less comprehensive view of the features of the new areas and nothing more.

After all it wasn't like he could go see for himself the new places. He had to be satisfied with what Lily was showing him.

-"This is the Theater Workshop. Here people sew the costumes used in the plays and create the props they need"- the Theater Workshop was a place with several tables with sewing machines, as well as cupboards and closets lining the walls. Overall it seemed like a simple place.

Lily left that place and went to the next one –"This is the Electronics Workshop. Here the students used to work on electronic and robotic equipment. Only those with certain permissions can enter, though. A special keycard is needed due to the potential dangerous tools in here"- A hand appeared in the screen, Mitsuhiko supposed it was Lily, and it pointed to a slot on the wall –"The keycard is inserted here and the door unlocks. Otherwise it's impossible to enter"-

Having left the Electronics Workshop they entered the last place, a room lined with shelves completely filled with books. Several round tables with computers were positioned in the center of the room –"And last this is the Literary Workshop. Those students with an affinity for words and languages used to work here and produce content for both school and work. That's it"-

-"Overall seems like a pretty boring floor to me"- Mitsuhiko said. It wasn't exactly the most exciting floor, everything seemed mundane and pretty much nothing neither was important for the commanders nor helped to find any clues about whatever was happening in the headquarters. It could all have been empty, for all he cared.

-"It's not useful to you, I suppose"- Lily shrugged and stopped the projection –"The Third Floor is filled with Laboratories, but with some luck nobody will die so it won't open. I'll present the second floor to the other prisoners now"- and with that Lily walked until she was in front of the classroom to Mitsuhiko's right. Not very interested on what Lily had shown him the hunter returned to a corner of the cell, resigned to spend several hours having nothing better to do other than staring to the walls.

-ooooo-

Somehow Mitsuhiko had fallen asleep, but the noises somebody was making on the door woke him up. Stretching to try to soothe his back pain he walked to the door, opening the slot. –"Takayama-kun, what do you think you're doing?"-

The bodyguard was apparently doing something with the hinges and the edges of the locked door. –"The others decided that to stop you three from doing anything I should keep an eye open at all times. I'll do that using these"- Takayama showed a black cube Mitsuhiko knew well.

-"More microphones"- Mitsuhiko said flatly. As if that had been of help before. Sure, it had produced important evidence but the point of them was that it would stop any murders from happening. What guaranteed it'd work now?

-"Yes, more microphones. I'm placing them where neither Lily nor Monobear can touch them, so there shouldn't be any problems now"- Takayama finished gluing microphones on the edges of the door, out of Mitsuhiko's reach. –"Hope to never see you again, murderer"-

I didn't get to kill him and it isn't like I'll try now. Mitsuhiko slumped onto the floor. People really are going to keep all of them locked until everything ended in one way or another. And all he could do is...stare at the ceiling or the walls. It was stupid.

_What am I supposed to do now_? Somewhat depressed Mitsuhiko went to the window and opened the slot. –"Yurie? Yurie, can you hear me?"- Mitsuhiko shouted. He wasn't worried about anybody hearing, it isn't like he was going to say anything incriminating or potentially murder-y. But no matter how much he shouted Yurie didn't say anything. Somehow the walls of the cells and the glass of the windows were pretty thick. Anything could happen inside a cell and nobody would be the wiser, as Mitsuhiko doubted the microphones could pick up anything from the inside.

The rest of the day went without any interruptions.

-ooooo-

It was night. An Accomplice was running. They knew they didn't have very long; the only option was to complete the mission and quickly go back. Arriving to the hall with the cells the Accomplice hurried to one of the cell doors, looking with expert eye at the wood. They quickly localized the microphones and took them off, making sure they didn't crush them accidentally.

Once they had taken the microphones they returned with the rest. Much to their relief, nobody noticed their absence.

It had been a perfect move.

When the path was clear and everybody was returning to whatever the commanders were doing before. The Accomplice, knowing there was no room for any mistake, placed the microphones on Yasumoto's door.

-ooooo-

_Just what I needed. Another day in a prison._

That was what he thought just as he awoke. Just a couple hours after that, he got once another tray with food. They were getting piled up on a corner, four empty trays. –"Can't they take the trays away?"- Mitsuhiko said to the person who had come to give him the food. It was Romi.

-"The trays aren't that big of a deal, there are literally dozens of them. Just leave them aside"-

-"Has anything new happened?"- Mitsuhiko craved anything that could get rid of his boredom even for a moment. Romi sighed, as if she weren't supposed to say what she was going to say now.

-"Well...Monobear went last night to the dinner room and gave us a motive; practically confirming...that whoever is controlling him is trying to destroy us"-

-"As if that were a secret"- Mitsuhiko droned. He had no time for stupidity from others. Romi bit her lip before looking to the side.

-"I brought Lily here, she can show you. Basically Monobear dragged us to the Meeting Room and showed us...a video. The important part is that the Main Board aren't who locked us here"-

-"You can't have watched anything"- Mitsuhiko pointed crassly.

-"But I can listen"-

-"If it isn't them then who?"- It was a possible big clue to know what was going on. That'd explain a lot of things, among them why Veritas and the Main Board had allowed the mutual killing game to happen despite loyalty being the main trait they had. Romi made a vague gesture towards Lily.

-"Just watch the video and get your own conclusions. To be honest I don't know anymore what's going on...I had thought the Main Board were the bad side here"-

Lily stepped in front of the door of Mitsuhiko's cell, ready to show what Monobear had given them as a motive. As soon as an image was projected against the wall Mitsuhiko narrowed his eyes, unsure of what he was seeing.

There were four people against the wall, their wrists and legs tied to pipes. The four of them were struggling to untie themselves, but it was impossible. From what Mitsuhiko could see one was Veritas. He recognized the old man who led the organization, that cape was impossible to ignore. There was a male and a female he didn't recognize, but he supposed they were...part of the Main Board. What other explanation would there be for them to think they were innocent? The last person, tied as well, was of a gender Mitsuhiko couldn't determine, as that person was showing their back to the camera.

Monobear appeared, his eyes glowing sinisterly. –"Hello commanders. These are the Main Board. We have caught them and locked them in the last floor of the Headquarters.

If you want to see them alive and receive the reward promised at the beginning of our game at least three of you will have to die so the survivors reach the last floor...supposing none of the murderers are successful..."-

There was something strange in Monobear's way of talking. Instead of it being cruelly playful, the Monobear of the video was concise and threatening, without even taking a moment for the commanders to process what he was saying. After a very small pause the bear walked to Veritas, unsheathing his claws –"Without the Main Board Diavolos Avante is like a headless chicken...you don't want to see the organization fall, do you?"- Monobear pressed his claws against Veritas' neck, just deep enough for him to bleed. The hunter could see scratches and some dry blood on the old man's neck; it was possible this wasn't the first take of the video.

Monobear stepped away, drying the blood on the black side of his fur. –"This'll be the only warning. Thank you for your attention"- and that was the end of the video.

Mitsuhiko stayed silent for a moment while Romi waited for his opinion, finally saying: -"...that sure was a thing"-

-"The reactions were very strong"- Romi commented –"Monobear played a very strong card, everybody is about to explode. If nothing happens...I think somebody will do something very stupid"-

-"What about you?"-

-"I couldn't care less what happens to those four. I'm leaving DeeEy, remember?"- Romi pushed Lily away. –"Kobayashi-kun was almost murdered last night"-

-"Wait what? What happened?"- _So Amy almost dies again?_

-"Yes. He was trying to open the door to the Basement, the one at the left end of Camp Lily, and Mimori-san found him. They argued and Kobayashi-kun was almost strangled. If it hadn't been for Sugita-san who heard the scuffle we'd have a victim already"-

-"Is she locked now?"- Mitsuhiko asked, although there were no more cells. Romi shook her head.

-"They both explained what had happened and Koshimizu-san determined a punishment wasn't needed. Mimori-san simply lost the control; she wasn't really planning to kill him, but damn if it didn't cause a mess! Everybody gathered to try to understand what happened!"-

_How fun. We both almost murder the same person, I get locked away and she's left scot-free._ Mitsuhiko thought bitterly, grasping the lock in an attempt to calm down. While he was fidgeting in his rage he accidentally slid his hand on a piece of wood that splintered from the door, making a nasty cut. –"Fuck!"-

-"What?"-

-"Nothing, I just got cut"- Although he was bleeding and had stained the doorknob with quite an amount of blood it wasn't a wound that'd need stitches or anything like that. –"Either way, was that all that happened?"-

-"That courier almost got killed too"- Romi shrugged –"And before you ask, no, it wasn't a murder attempt. She...she almost attacked Monobear after the announcement. It was quite a ruckus, she was furious! Screaming something about that video being an absolute lie"-

-"Really?"- If Emiko had attacked Monobear then it must have been something serious for her. Does that mean...Tanaka-san knows something about the Main Board? I-"I suppose you all asked her what happened, right?"-

-"We did but she refused to say anything further than that, but she made pretty clear that..."- Romi struggled to imitate Emiko's tone of voice –"...the Main Board is involved in something very suspicious. Don't trust that video"-

Not too long after that Romi left, leaving Mitsuhiko with his thoughts. Monobear's video, Emiko's behavior, Mimori's murder attempt against Kobayashi...certainly a lot of events in one night.

_...how does this all relate to each other, I wonder?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have a concrete character you'd like to spend Free Time with in the next chapter just leave me a PM or a review stating who. Hosoya and Yurie are unavailable due to, well, being locked away.


	11. Chapter 2: Locked (Ab)normal Days II

Mitsuhiko sat against the wall, examining the ugly wound he had on his hand. It wasn't too deep, but it was painful and there was blood now on the floor and on the handle of the door. The hunter had tried to clean the door but hadn't done a very good job. There was nothing to be done.

"For how long am I going to be locked here?" he grumbled, standing to look through the slot of the door. Nobody was passing through but he could hear voices from the Lounge. It sounded like they were relaxed. Mitsuhiko closed his eyes, trying to listen to what they were saying.

"If you have to sleep you shouldn't do it against the door"

Mitsuhiko opened his eyes, seeing Sasuga there. He had been so focused trying to hear what was going on in the Lounge he hadn't heard the Roboticist approaching. "Hey there" the hunter greeted without enthusiasm. "I saw Lily. She seems to be fine now"

"I'm a very good on what I do. What else did you expect?"

"Forget that. What are you here for?" Mitsuhiko wasn't really in mood for idle chatter. Sasuga looked to the sides and passed a small box through the slot.

"Here. This should be of help". When Mitsuhiko opened the box he found several of the things that were in his bedroom. Weapon catalogues, magazines, assorted reading material and a notebook.

"You entered my room"

"You don't care, right? Also, I'm taking the gun you had. If you're ever left out contact me and I'll give it back. Since when you owned two different guns?"

Mitsuhiko didn't reply. It didn't make him happy to know both guns had been discovered and confiscated. Koshimizu had one and now Sasuga had the other. "Thank you for the stuff"

"Think of it as a reward. I liked how you argued in the trial, Hikari-kun. You reminded me of a character of a book I'm writing" Sasuga smiled hesitantly. Mitsuhiko, somewhat amused, left the box aside.

"Are you moonlighting as a writer?"

"I started recently. It's a murder mystery book. I'm a good writer, you know"

Mitsuhiko loved the mystery genre. It was a completely different experience to be in what sounded like a very long and character-filled story and to be honest he wasn't liking it. However reading mystery books was a great way to kill time. "Awesome! Can I read it?"

"Do you really want to?"

"Sure, why not?" It wasn't like he had anything better to do. He was willing to try anything to stop being so damn bored! Sasuga's eyes shined brightly while he lifted a bunch of paper tied together. Clearly that had been the reason he went there in the first place. He was looking for somebody to read the draft of whatever story he had written.

"Thank you so much, Hikari-kun! I have been looking for smart people to read this and you fit the bill. Please enjoy!"

"When I'm done we'll discuss it"

"It'll have to be when you're not locked in this cell, of course. This book is top secret" Sasuga said almost maliciously. Even if he wanted Mitsuhiko's help it was clear he wasn't exactly bothered the hunter was in a small cell. Tempted to throw the draft to his head Mitsuhiko awkwardly put his arm through the slot, but the thought of being entertained for a while was enough to deter him. Slightly cheered up he sat against the wall and started to read the first page.

It was a closed room mystery located in a stately minor at the edge of a cliff, involving an aristocratic family in the 1800 age. However with each page Mitsuhiko's expression changed from happy to concerned to frankly aghast. The crime was interesting in a sense; it wasn't something he had ever read before, but...

"This story is terrible!" Mitsuhiko exclaimed, leaving the draft aside once he finished. The crime wasn't enough to cover for the lack of talent Sasuga had. "That guy better stay with the robots and the circuits. He has zero talent as a writer"

In that moment he remembered he was going to tell Sasuga exactly what he thought about his story. He had no problems with being blunt, that was something he was willing to do. The problem was that if he was honest it could bring a lot of trouble to his life in the Headquarters, even if he's out. Sasuga was a decently intelligent person, after all. Surely he'd manage to get Mitsuhiko in problems with the rest.

_This is going to be ugly._

-oooo-

Somebody knocked at the door. When Mitsuhiko approached and opened the slot he saw nobody. He wasn't able to look much further than the wall in front of him, but he couldn't see anybody. "Not funny, guys. I'm not in mood for pranks"

"Who is doing pranks, Hikari-kun?" a very annoying voice said, one he didn't want to hear. Standing on the tip of his toes Mitsuhiko looked downwards through the slot until he saw the top of an ursine head he knew very well.

"What the fuck do you want?"

"I could get you out of here, you know" Monobear whispered. Mitsuhiko didn't reply, instead remembering Takayama's microphones. The bodyguard surely would be listening, wouldn't he? Surely at some point Takayama would arrive and get Monobear away of there. However not even if those microphones weren't there Mitsuhiko would not accept help from Monobear.

"I'm not interested. Go away" Mitsuhiko moved to close the slot.

"Come on! Don't you want to escape from this cell? To get your guns and get away?"

"Not if the price is doing anything for you"

Monobear pretended the hunter hurt his feelings, clutching his chest. "My poor heart! I can't bear your ungratefulness! This is how you pay me for being an accomplice in your murder plan two days ago?"

"…hypothetically…what would you need?"

"Oh, nothing, it's no big deal" Monobear said cheerfully "It's a little trade. I was an accomplice in your plan, so it'd be fair for you to be an accomplice in mine, wouldn't it?"

The hunter stared at Monobear, unsure of what he was listening. "You're not asking me to be a mole for you, right?"

"You'd get benefits! Diavolos Avante's days are close to be over now that the whole Main Board is out of commission. It'd be great to have a way out before the meltdown, specially if it means getting out of this building alive" the bear's red eye glistened threateningly "I have listened to what the other commanders have been saying in the cafeteria. Would you believe that they're hoping you're the next victim? It's matter of time before somebody tries to kill you"

Mitsuhiko subconsciously grasped tighter the doorknob. "I'm not going to let myself be killed. Don't worry about me"

"And here I was offering you a way to save yourself out of kindness. I have nothing else to say" Monobear turned around "If you change your mind call me. I won't mind to give you a paw as long as you follow my instructions" and after saying that he left, laughing quietly to himself. Mitsuhiko looked at the empty dishes and the tray to a side of the classroom. He actually believed he was a target. After all he had tried to kill Kobayashi! It was possible somebody was going to get to him somehow. However he had never realized he was in a very vulnerable state right now. _Note to myself: sleep away from the door. Eat as little as possible from the food._

He was worried about Yurie, though. Although he had been the owner of the gun it was unmistakable that Yurie had a hand in the murder plan as well. That's what they had agreed and it had been revealed when Yasumoto died. If he was in danger…wouldn't that mean Yurie was in danger? He hadn't heard from his fiancée for two days, couldn't she have been attacked yet…or died? _No, no. This floor would stink to high heavens if she were dead, she must be alive_. For a moment Mitsuhiko wondered if she'd accept Monobear's offer, if he did the same to her. An urgent talk would be needed once he got out.

"You won't accept" Mitsuhiko turned his head to peer through the slot. Takayama was there with his arms crossed, looking at the hunter severely "You better forget about what the bear told you"

"There you are! Where were you? Why weren't you listening to your fucking microphones?" Mitsuhiko shouted. Takeyama raised his hands defensively.

"Wow, wait a second! I _was_ listening! I heard everything he was telling you. I was curious to hear what you were going to reply"

"It would have been even better if you had stopped Monobear from talking"

"Why? Are you so weak-willed you're going to consider being Monobear's mole?" Mitsuhiko shook his head emphatically. Takeyama nodded, pleased. "That's what I wanted to hear. I hope your actions will fit your words" Takeyama stepped towards the Lounge, where Monobear had gone.

"Wait!"

Takeyama stopped and turned around with inquiring expression. Mitsuhiko took a deep breath, unsure if he should ask for that favor. "Please don't let Monobear tempt Yurie. She may consider accepting and…there's no way that can end well" Takeyama flashed a thumbs up before continuing walking away. With that settled Mitsuhiko allowed himself to sink onto the floor, somewhat relieved. Despite his flaws he knew he could trust Takeyama. There was no way the bodyguard wasn't going to keep an ear on Monobear's activities.

-ooooo-

Mitsuhiko was counting the number of bricks he could distinguish in the walls of the classroom. He had left the slot open to keep an eye on what was going on outside of his cell. From time to time somebody was walking there, but as their steps were soft and almost silent it was difficult to make contact with them before they got too far. He was craving some sort of interaction with…practically anybody except Koshimizu. The Medical Demon was pretty much the only person he didn't want to see.

While he was trying to decide if the farthest wall had one hundred forty three or one hundred forty five bricks Mitsuhiko managed to hear something coming from the hall. Sprinting from the corner he had been sitting on he threw himself against the door. A startled squeal was a sign he had gotten the attention of whoever was outside. "Hikari-kun!" It was Emiko.

"It's you" Mitsuhiko shrugged. May as well confirm a couple things. "Got a moment?"

"I'm not going to let you out" Emiko said defensively, straightening her cap.

"That's not what I was going to discuss!" Mitsuhiko spat, struggling to not to shout "Romi-san was here yesterday and told me about the video"

"Oh, that" Emiko nodded warily.

"She said something quite interesting about your reaction to that video…" Mitsuhiko looked carefully at Emiko's face to see her expression. The courier held his gaze without flinching but he could see a twitch on the corner of her eye. That wasn't enough to determine anything, though.

"What about it?"

"Why were you sure the video was fake?"

"Because Monobear wasn't acting at all like he is!" Emiko replied instantly "He's...going straight to the point; there was no mocking, no 'upupupu', not even a laugh! I had never seen Monobear in person before being here yet it's like I'm the only one who knows how he'd act"

"You did seem pretty blasé about seeing a talking bear and a little girl fighting on a table, when you arrived here" Mitsuhiko noted. Emiko stood still for a moment before covering her face with her cap.

"Y-yeah, a courier shouldn't feel curiosity over what happens. My job is to deliver packages, not gawk at whatever's going on"

Mitsuhiko thought about what she had said during all the time he had known her. If she's in a company guarded by the Future Foundation it's possible she's used to Monobear, either way. Besides it wasn't like his face wasn't plastered around the world. "Right. Sorry to see you got involved in all this"

"It's the world after the end. I should consider myself lucky I have a job and can survive. I just hope...this ends soon. But I have a question" Emiko put on her cap and leaned on the cell door, making visual contact "Are you, Diavolos Avante, the bad guys in this whole matter?"

"What do you mean?"

"Should I make an effort to stop all of you, get rid of your organization? I want to know if you people want to fix Enoshima's despair"

The hunter looked away. "It's not that simple. We do want to get rid of the despair, it's just..."

"Just that you want to put your own brand of despair in charge of everything?" Emiko was sounding extremely serious. Much to his chagrin Mitsuhiko felt nervousness when looking at her. He hadn't expected her to get suspicious of them.

"No, it isn't that. We want recognition of our job when it's all over, though"

"...right" Emiko let out a deep breath, looking weaker now "I'm fed up with all this despair. I have been...despairing for way too long. Just recently I learned to leave it behind and focus on the future...but there's something still in the way. A loose thread" Mitsuhiko just stared, unsure of where this was going. Emiko was silent for a moment before asking the question she had wanted to ask since quite a while:

"What do you know about the mutual killing game that happened in a bunker two weeks ago?"

The hunter thought back. He didn't know much about it, but he did know that was what led to Volkos' death and therefore...their actual situation. That's what he told to Emiko, who closed her fists. "Are you saying DeeEy were responsible for that game?"

"To be honest I'm starting to suspect the Main Board had something to do with it" the hunter replied "Volkos' death is so...strange...it's said he was a traitor and had done that mutual killing game to kill candidates to the Future Foundation, but there are strange things in this whole story. I don't know, though"

"So it's true. DeeEy had a hand in this. I knew it"

"Why do you care about that? Were you there?"

Emiko stepped aside. "No, but I know somebody who did. I...I lost my sister there"

"I asked this before but I'll ask again: who are you?"

The courier walked away after Mitsuhiko a note. Mitsuhiko sat, thinking about what she had said. He was completely sure now the courier was hiding something big and that it was likely she'd try to destroy DeeEy. However...it didn't seem to him she had been the one to create Lily and summon them. The hunter read again the note she had passed through the slot:

_'Tanaka is a false last name. My real name is...Emiko Hasegawa-Nakai'_

-ooooo-

Mitsuhiko took the tray Kishio was passing him. It was dinnertime again and it marked the last moments of the second day of imprisonment. It had been two long, long days. The hunter had never realized how boredom could make minutes stretch until they seemed hours, and hours stretch until they seemed eternal. "Will I be let out soon?"

"No. You three are staying in your cells for an indefinite time" Kishio said bluntly. Mitsuhiko cringed, sensing clear hate towards him.

"That was Koshimizu-san's influence. Are you going to let him tell you, our leader, what to do?"

"I trust Koshimizu-san's judgment. A Leader needs to have a right hand _, no lo crees_?"

"You can't be a good Leader if you let other take decisions for you. How did you manage to be the most important commander in the country if you don't know that?" Mitsuhiko replied bitterly. The Linguist Demon shook her head, thoughtful.

"I discovered quite a long time ago that I'm not the most important commander because of my leadership skills. It's just...matter of convenience"

"Convenience?"

"How many people in DeeEy do you think speak eight languages? Only me. Who else would be fitting to be in contact with the commanders in other countries? Not all of them speak Japanese, after all"

The hunter nodded, that made sense. Still, he knew Kishio was a great commander and a good leader. That's why she was respected among the organization and that's why they had let her take the command of their situation. "So, what's our stance now? Are you all believing the video Monobear showed?"

"We are. It explains a lot of things, there's no way the Main Board would be behind Monobear. They got overtaken by a mysterious person and held hostage"

"Do you think they really are on the highest floor here?"

"...I think they are. They made that incentive so we kill each other, but I won't consent that. We can't use our deaths as our way to get to them"

"But several of us are ruthless enough to try to get into the free spot in the Main Board. I already tried" Kishio narrowed her eyes at obvious displeasure to being reminded that.

"Thank heavens I still have Takayama-kun with me as my partner. As long as he's with us nobody is going to fall into despair or into the temptation of killing. In fact...Takayama-kun is the most loved person in this building, after me!" Mitsuhiko raised his eyebrows. The bodyguard never seemed to him like the kind to be liked by everybody "You should have seen him last night. He's...taking care of all of us. Making sure we're all right, forcing us to say what we're thinking...we're united. If it had been up to me we would be paranoid and ready to defend ourselves at the slightest attack, but he has managed to calm us down"

"To me it sounds like he's in charge, not you"

"I'm fine with that. Let others be in charge, it'll give me time to rest. I have been a commander for so long...I have forgotten what it is to sit and see others take charge of the problems. I want that"

Mitsuhiko passed back the tray with the empty plates, finally having finished dinner. "You want to do nothing, I want to do something. Let's change places"

"Hahahaha, in your dreams, asshole. I'm happy not being locked for crimes against us. Enjoy the rest of the month, Hikari-kun, the walls of your cell are the only thing you'll be seeing for a long, long time" It was discouraging to know that almost everybody wanted to make sure they stayed in those cells. While he hadn't made the best first impression the first day he never expected to be in this situation.

_I spent the next hour meditating about the consequences of my actions._

-ooooo-

It was 4:00 AM

Outside in the hall of the cells the First Accomplice shook a bottle containing the mixture. They knew what they were doing would likely tip off everybody about the presence of Accomplices among them to Monobear, and while that made the First Accomplice nervous; the Second Accomplice had made clear it didn't matter.

The plan was simple: usher a murder. The to-be culprit was ready; they had been for quite some time. They had managed to contact the Main Board and convince them of giving them a hand, and the First Accomplice was tasked with being the help.

The to-be culprit was ready. The victim had been chosen and in an hour they'd be dead. The plan was convoluted but the to-be culprit was confident they'd be able to carry it out.

And it was time.

The First Accomplice opened carefully the slot of Mitsuhiko's cell and threw the bottle inside, hearing the impact. The gases inside that bottle would keep Mitsuhiko asleep no matter what happened, everything was safe now and it was just matter of continuing.

-ooooo-

Mitsuhiko awoke with a horrible headache; somebody was shaking him with a lot of strength. The hunter groggily opened his eyes, trying to focus. 'W-What...what's going on...?' When he was able to see properly he saw it was Yurie. The happiness of seeing her overwhelmed him, he threw his arms around her and they both kissed passionately.

'A-HEM' somebody nearby cleared his throat. The couple turned their heads around, seeing Koshimizu "Don't do that. Hikari-kun needs to rest; he inhaled a dangerous gases mixture"

"Dangerous mixture? What?" Mitsuhiko inquired, confused. Yurie dried her tears and spoke gravely.

"Somebody threw a bottle in here, the remains of whatever chemicals were inside...got him to that conclusion"

"It's an anesthetic that went through a process to turn it into a gas. Not hard to do"

"I was so afraid, I thought you'd be...you'd be dead..." Yurie said softly. Mitsuhiko, still confused, asked why she'd think that. The hacker sniffed and pointed to the door. Even from his position Mitsuhiko could see the problem.

The door knob and lock were haphazardly dismantled. Completely broken. "That's not enough to think I'd be dead, right?"

"No, but a murder is. We thought you could be a second victim"

"Second victim? I want to see" Mitsuhiko tried to stand up but Koshimizu put his hand on the hunter's chest, stopping him "There was a murder. Somebody is falling into Monobear's schemes again. I must get involved in this"

"Should he, Koshimizu-san?"

"With my supervision I suppose he could at least know the basics. Let's go"

With Koshimizu's help Mitsuhiko managed to be held between the Medical Demon and Yurie. The three of them walked towards the Lounge, where many commanders were fathered. "Where's the body?" Mitsuhiko asked and was shown the door to the crime scene. It was the Theater Workshop.

The three of them stood on the entrance, looking inside. Face down on the floor, with his feet inside one of the cabinets, laid a dead body, one Mitsuhiko recognized, even though the clothes were different from what the victim usually wore.

The only thing that stayed the same was the hair, and that was what tipped off the identity of the victim.

Mamoru Takayama had been murdered.


	12. Chapter 2: Locked - Abnormal Days

Mitsuhiko felt a wave of dread coming over him. Takayama was one of the few he was okay with, and from what Kishio had told him the bodyguard was appreciated by everybody. Well, at least by most. There was one person who didn't like Takayama, apparently.

"You have seen him. Now go to rest" Koshimizu said, dragging him a bit. However Yurie growled and practically launched himself over the doctor, trying to get him to let Mitsuhiko go.

"Did you forget how Mitsu-chan helped in the first trial? Let him help! He'll need as much information as possible!"

"In the first trial he wasn't gassed the night before, you know" Koshimizu argued back, letting go of Mitsuhiko "He should follow Romi-san's example and rest"

"Wait what?" Mitsuhiko asked, having heard that.

Yurie balled her fists and replied petulantly: "Well I don't see _you_ following Romi-san's example. Why should he?"

"Hold on, what was that?" Mitsuhiko made himself heard "What do you mean, Yurie?"

The hacker turned her head around to answer to her fiancé "I heard you weren't the only one who got anesthetized. Apparently that blind broad and Doctor Grumpy here present were gassed as well" Mitsuhiko raised his eyebrows, intrigued. So there were in total three people who were sleeping deeply. That raised a lot of questions.

"I see, but I want to investigate. I'm not going to be left aside while my life is in risk" the hunter said with determination, crouching aside the body. Koshimizu, knowing he wouldn't be able to convince Mitsuhiko to step aside and rest, walked to the entrance.

"Fine, but we're taking measures here. Hey, Kobayashi-kun! Get Lily here and keep an eye on this guy"

"I need no supervisor" Mitsuhiko spat, but Koshimizu didn't look annoyed. Instead he smiled with melancholy.

"It's common sense to watch over a suspect, isn't it?"

"Wait, are you serious? Are they suspecting me for this?!" the hunter stood up, enraged.

"It's theorized you may have broken out of your cell and then broke a bottle with that mix to make yourself look innocent" Koshimizu said while Kobayashi and Lily arrived, them listening to their conversation.

"It's a stupid theory" Yurie mumbled. The doctor shrugged, a tad bothered.

"Luckily for you it's not as popular as other theories. I think only me and Tanaka-san believe you're the culprit. There's another suspect and a secondary theory"

"Who's the main suspect?" Mitsuhiko asked. Koshimizu sighed, rubbing his beard.

"It's me. Don't enjoy it, because I'm not the culprit and you'll die if you vote for me". After that the doctor left, leaving the three commanders and the robot alone. Mitsuhiko stretched, ready to start the investigation.

"Is the secondary theory that Romi-san is the culprit?" he asked to his partners.

"That's right! I don't think Koshimizu-san did it so I'm more into the Romi Culprit Theory" Kobayashi answered "She's much more suspicious on my opinion"

"Koshimizu-san did it" Yurie declared "I'm sure it was him"

"I don't think you have a lot of time left, Hikari-kun, so be as quick as possible! Let me give you a good start here" Kobayashi put his hand on Lily's head "Lily, could you show him that video?"

"Yes!" Lily nodded. Since she got fixed by Sasuga it seemed to Mitsuhiko she was cheerier than before. The girl projected a white rectangle on the wall, turning into a video "Hikari-kun! This is a video of the moment the body was found" she explained when it started. The hunter watched carefully, memorizing what he was seeing.

The video started with Sasuga in his room, who was apparently checking some functions of Lily still worked. _'I think I did the best job possible here. You shouldn't have any problems'. Lily and Sasuga left the bedroom, the Roboticist wondering if Sugita had already prepared breakfast. It's 6:30 AM already, she must be awake already" he was commenting to Lily when he saw Kobayashi and Kishio on the distance, talking with worried expressions. 'Hey guys. Why are you so worried?'_

_'I need to talk to Takayama-kun but he isn't in his bedroom. He wouldn't do that!' Kishio replied, looking around 'We were about to go to the Lounge, he could be in that workshop with the electronic tools' The three commanders went into the Lounge and stopped in front of the Electronic Workshop, its door closed and locked. 'Is any of you authorized to go in?'_

_'I don't work with any electronics so no' Kobayashi said but Sasuga showed his own ID and passed it through the slot. The door opened but Takayama wasn't there._

_'This is starting to be bad' Kishio murmured 'Both of you, separate and look for him'. Kobayashi and Sasuga obeyed, Lily and Sasuga entering the Theater Workshop._

_'He's not here either' Sasuga said aloud but Lily ignored him, instead going to one of the cabinets 'Let's go, Lily'_

_'Sasuga-san, I think you should take a look at this...' Lily pointed at the floor, where some drops of blood could be seen. Sasuga crouched aside and stared at them for a few seconds before straightening._

_'Fuck. Kishio-sensei isn't going to like this' Sasuga grasped the handles of the cupboard and pulled, opening both doors. As soon as he did Takayama's dead body fell from the inside. Sasuga, startled, screamed in surprise, attracting both Kobayashi and Kishio._

_'Sasuga-kun are you okaOH MY GOD' Kobayashi shouted, grasping Kishio. The Linguist Demon didn't say anything, instead taking Sasuga and dragging him outside while the dead body announcement sounded._

_'We need to awaken the rest. Come on'._ The video ended shortly after that.

"So Amy, Kishio-sensei and Sasuga-kun were the ones to find the body. That means they're innocent...most likely" Mitsuhiko declared, approaching the body.

"Right. We have ten suspects left and in case you don't know it Koshimizu-san must be the culprit' Yurie said.

'Why are you all suspecting Koshimizu-san? I know he's a bastard and he deserves to step on rusty nails, but our lives are in risk here"

"We have found some...evidence that point at him. It's not much, but it's either him or Romi-san. Romi doesn't seem to me like she'd be able to murder Takayama-kun, you know why..." Kobayashi pointed at his own eyes and that was enough for Mitsuhiko to understand. Mitsuhiko took a superficial look at the body and then took out his own ID to check the Monobear file.

**Monobear File #2**

_Victim: Mamoru Takayama, codename: Caassimolar_

_Cause of Death: Hemorrhaging Shock caused by his throat being cut with a sharp instrument._

_Location of the Body: Theaters Workshop_

_Time of Death: 5:06 AM_

_The body registers high amounts of anesthetics without reaching fatal levels. There are no other wounds nor any other possible death causes._

"So the culprit cut Takayama-kun's throat. Huh. Have we found a knife anywhere?"

"It was found in the hallway of Camp Lily. I think Romi-san was the one to find it shortly after Koshimizu-san woke her up" Kobayashi informed, biting into a sandwich. The hunter was going to reply when he noticed what Kobayashi was doing.

"Are you seriously eating in middle of a crime scene?"

"Hey, there won't be breakfast now, with the body and what not! I need to eat, okay?"

"Give me a bite" Yurie ordered, extending her hand "It doesn't have peanut, right?"

"It does. It's peanut butter and jam. You guys have been filling yourselves with the strawberry jam, haven't you? We're almost out of it"

"Don't look at me, I have been in my cell the whole time" Mitsuhiko replied, turning the body around.

**Bloody Kitchen Knife**

_The knife used in the murder. Found by Romi in the hallway in Camp Lily._

Once Takayama's body was fully turned Mitsuhiko touched the clothes the bodyguard was wearing. 'He doesn't even have that ridiculous armor underneath this tuxedo. Why is he wearing a tuxedo in the first place? Usually he has that...ridiculous rubber suit"

"Last night he was wearing the rubber suit and the armor in plain sight" Kobayashi said "But that tuxedo isn't his"

"It isn't?"

"It's from the theater costumes" Yurie said, opening another cabinet and taking out a tuxedo identical to the one Takayama was wearing "See?"

"So Takayama-kun came here and changed his clothes? Why would he do that?" Mitsuhiko wondered, comparing both tuxedos.

"Beats me"

**Tuxedo**

_A tuxedo from the Theater Workshop. Takayama was wearing it when he was found. There's an identical suit in a nearby cabinet._

"This is a horrible way to die. Poor Takayama-kun" Kobayashi mused "Who between us would hate him enough for that? To me it seemed everybody was grateful to him"

"You're an idiot if you believe being friends will stop anybody from killing" Mitsuhiko said, taking a colorful bundle that was near the body "What's this kitschy thing?"

"It's a hat, Mitsu-chan. It goes on your head" Yurie mocked lamely "It's from this place too"

**Colorful Hat**

_A Jamaican hat found near Takayama's body. It's normally found in the Theater Workshop_

"Tuxedos and Jamaican hats. Takayama-kun was playing dress-up before dying" Mitsuhiko droned "Just what this guy was doing?"

"Lily?" Kobayashi asked. Until that moment the robot girl had stayed aside, just watching how the commanders prowled around "Has this always been here?"

"It doesn't fit this workshop. I think it came from the Carpentry Workshop" Lily replied. The illusionist was looking at a wooden hat stand in a corner of the workshop. Most people wouldn't even have paid attention to it, and that's what Mitsuhiko commented. "We're looking for clues; if there's anything out of place we should take note of it"

"It's just a hat stand" Yurie said.

"Do you normally go moving hat stands around?" Mitsuhiko asked "Amy is right for once. Let's take note of this"

**Hat Stand**

A hat stand normally located in the Carpentry Workshop. Found in a corner of the crime scene.

"The floor feels sticky here" Yurie notified, touching the tiles of the floor "I think blood was cleaned here"

"I wish we had luminol" Kobayashi commented "That'd confirm it"

"We don't need to confirm it, what else can it be in a freaking crime scene? And look over here!" Yurie had looked into a trash can and found what seemed to be pieces of a balloon "This is rubber"

"Rubber?" Mitsuhiko crouched near her and looked closely "You're right, it's rubber. Look at their color" the hunter took one of the rubber pieces and put it over Takayama's hand "It's similar to his skin tone"

"Look at the other side!" Yurie took the rubber piece and turned it around, touching it with a finger "This is...what is this?" on her finger Mitsuhiko could see a dense and sticky red substance. Puzzled, Yurie put her nose near it and smelled the substance.

"Is it blood?" Kobayashi asked from afar.

"No, it's not blood. It smells...fruity. Like...jam?"

"Is that what the jam was used for? To fill balloons?"

"...okay, I have no idea why this is here. We're done"

**Rubber Pieces**

_Several pieces of rubber found in a trash can in the crime scene. They're covered with strawberry jam on one side_

"That's all we can find in here" Mitsuhiko said, straightening up "Any thoughts of where I could go next?"

"Mitsu-chan, read the file! Takayama-kun had anesthetics in his system. He must have been gassed too"

_So four people in total? Romi-san, Koshimizu-san, Takayama-kun and me. What was the culprit thinking?_ Mitsuhiko walked outside alone while Kobayashi and Yurie went into the Carpentry Workshop. The hunter was planning to check the bedrooms of the other three anesthetized commanders; where else would they have been the night before? But when Mitsuhiko was crossing the hall towards Camp Lily and passed in front of the cells Mitsuhiko stopped, having a sudden thought. It could be good to check the lock and the bottle.

Mitsuhiko almost put his eye directly on the lock, checking it. Undoubtedly it had been heavily abused and broken, apparently beaten up with some sort of blunt object. The handle on the hallway side was bent and snapped, and the place where the key was usually inserted was bent beyond any recognition. Wow, this was thorough. Why the hell was this lock broken? thought the hunter, entering to the cell and examining the other side. On the side to the cell the lock was intact, as it was to be expected, however Mitsuhiko frowned. There was something amiss and it took him a while to remember what it was:

The lock was completely clean. The blood from the cut of two days before was gone.

**Broken Lock**

_The lock from Mitsuhiko's cell, rendered unusable with some sort of blunt object. The blood on the inside portion is gone but it doesn't show signs of having been cleaned._

_Just what does this mean_? Mitsuhiko thought about the lock, going to check the broken bottle on the floor. It was a bottle of the size of his hand, and Mitsuhiko could clearly see residues of the substances once contained there. It was a yellowish dust, covering the floor around the broken glass. _So this is what knocked me out._

**Broken Bottles**

_Rests of a glass bottle in the floor of Mitsuhiko's cell. There were bottles found in Romi's bedroom, Koshimizu's bedroom and Takayama's bedroom._

If anesthetics were used the most obvious place they came from would be the Infirmary. Time to check over there! Mitsuhiko descended into Camp Monobear first and verified there was a broken bottle in Takayama's bedroom. As expected there was, with the same amount of residue than the one he had found in his cell.

"What are you looking for in there?" Kishio said once he went out of Takayama's bedroom. Mitsuhiko told her about the broken bottles and the Linguist nodded. "Yes, we did find bottles in the rooms of everybody who got gassed"

"Anything unusual about the bottles?"

"Hmmmm... _stranen_? Well there was something about the one in Romi-san's bedroom..." Mitsuhiko immediately asked what she meant "You saw the broken bottles have this yellow dust in them, right?"

"Yeah"

"Well there was much less dust in the bottle in Romi-san's bedroom than in any other we found. You know what that means, right?"

Mitsuhiko knew "There was less anesthetic in Romi-san's bottle than in the others"

**Broken Bottles (update)**

_Rests of a glass bottle in the floor of Mitsuhiko's cell. There were bottles found in Romi's bedroom, Koshimizu's bedroom and Takayama's bedroom. Romi's bottle had much less anesthetic than the others._

"Exactly! I was going to find Koshimizu and make him tell me how the anesthetic were turned into gases. You go and do what you need to do"

The two commanders parted in good terms, Mitsuhiko continuing towards the Infirmary. That place was pretty orderly, just as expected from Koshimizu. He didn't seem the type to leave anything disorganized. The good thing is that as everything was in its place it was going to be easier to find any clues. If the anesthetics came from here they must have been in the medicine cabinet. And just as expected the cabinet showed clear signs of being forced. It was just as obliterated as the lock of the door of his cell, but in this one he could see what had damaged it. It was right there on the floor near the cabinet.

It was a bullet.

**Broken Cabinet Lock**

_The lock of the Infirmary cabinet. It was been destroyed by a bullet. It's worth noting that Koshimizu is the only one who has the key to the cabinet._

Mitsuhiko picked up the bullet, examining it closely. He didn't recognize the bullet but he had a feeling where it had come from. Its caliber was very telling.

The only gun he knew that could have fired that bullet was the gun he had received via mail in the first day of their stay in the Headquarters...and Koshimizu was the one who had that gun.

**Bullet and Gun**

_A bullet for a Twin M9 Beretta. Mitsuhiko owns the gun but before he was locked in a cell Koshimizu confiscated it. The bullet destroyed the lock of the Infirmary cabinet_

Once it was confirmed what had destroyed the cabinet lock Mitsuhiko opened it and scanned the contents. There were a lot of bottles filled with pills and syrups, but although he took the time to check each one he didn't see any anesthetics. "Hikari-kun, what do you think you're doing with the medicines?"

The hunter turned around and saw Koshimizu in the entrance. The man was glaring at Mitsuhiko, clearly discontent to see him. "Well the bottles were filled with anesthetics so I wanted to check if there was any in here"

"The closest there's to that is sleeping pills" Koshimizu informed and approached the cabinet, taking each pill bottle "And before you ask, yes, it's possible the gases that knocked you out were made from those. It'd need a complex chemical processing, though, and nobody has the materials for that"

"Lily had said something yesterday" Mitsuhiko remembered "She had said there were laboratories in the third floor"

"But the stairs to the third floor are blocked! Nobody could go upstairs through that grate" The Medical Demon left all bottles inside the cabinet "Huh. It was unlikely but looks like that's what happened. The sleeping pills are missing"

**Missing Sleeping Pills**

_A bottle of sleeping pills went missing from the Infirmary cabinet. It's suspected they were used to create the gases that affected Mitsuhiko, Koshimizu, Takayama and Romi._

"So there's a grate..." Mitsuhiko mused to himself "...I think that...somebody did accept Monobear's offer"

"Did you say something?" Koshimizu asked in the way out.

"Yesterday Monobear came to the cells and tried to convince one of us to be a mole for him. Somebody working with Monobear would have access to the laboratories in the Third Floor"

"...Hikari-kun, are you insinuating that the culprit is one of the three people in the cells...among them you?"

"That could be possible" Mitsuhiko nodded "Listen, Takayama-kun had placed microphones on the doors of the cells. If anybody accepted Monobear's offer it'll be recorded in Takayama-kun's machines"

Koshimizu rubbed his beard. "Smart guy, that Takayama-kun. I'll take a look"

As soon as Koshimizu left Mitsuhiko facepalmed. Maybe he shouldn't have left the main suspect check that, but as soon as he tried to reach him he couldn't find Koshimizu. After finding Mitsuishi just sitting around he asked him to check on Koshimizu. Mitsuishi grumbled but obeyed. _Well that's solved. Where could I go now?_

"Hikari-kun, fancy seeing you free like me" Hosoya greeted. Mitsuhiko groaned, this was the guy he didn't want to see. He hadn't forgotten Hosoya's attempted harassment to Sugita.

"What do you want?"

"Just wanted to say hi to my fellow prisoner. Is that really so bad?" Hosoya never looked more childish than in that moment. It was unspeakably creepy to see a grown man with such a baby face and clothes leaning towards him.

"If it's you then yes, it's bad. It's horrifying. Leave me alone"

"Okay, okay! No need to get pissy, man" Hosoya stepped back "I was going upstairs to help investigate"

"I was going too, but you better stay away of me. If more people die I really hope you're one of them" Mitsuhiko spat and walked away. Hosoya stayed still for a moment before shrugging and following Mitsuhiko upstairs to the Lounge. Yurie was there, reading some printed information.

"Mitsu-chan, read this! And...oh, it's you" Yurie scowled when she saw Hosoya waving at her "Think they'll accept a proposal of locking him again after the trial?"

"They better accept that proposal" Mitsuhiko took the pages Yurie passed him "What's this?"

"Apparently not only new areas are opened after each trial, new software appears in the Administrative Offices. Take a look, this controls authorized access in some areas. Take a look at what this says"

The report listed two names and a date, precisely the date of the actual day. The title of the report showed this list were the people who entered the Electronics Workshop, the place that needed an authorized ID to enter.

Mamoru Takayama - 4:42 AM

Tohya Sasuga -6:33 AM

**Electronics Workshop Record**

_The list of commanders that entered the Electronics Workshop the morning of the murder. Takayama entered at 4:42 AM and Sasuga entered at 6:33 AM_

"Right, Takayama-kun entered this workshop. It's closed right now, isn't it?"

"After Sasuga-kun searched for Takayama in there the door was closed. It has been closed since that moment"

"Then there must be evidence to be found there! Evidence the culprit can't have touched!" Mitsuhiko exclaimed, approaching the door.

"That's true..." Yurie started saying but was interrupted by Hosoya, who had entered the Theater Workshop for a moment.

"I brought Takayama-kun's ID to open the door" the conman shouted, showing the rectangular piece of technology on his hand. Yurie took it gingerly, as if she wished nothing less than staying away from Hosoya, and passed it to her fiancé.

"At least you're being a bit useful, Hosoya... " Mitsuhiko muttered, passing a finger on the slot for the ID on the wall to remove any dust and inserted the ID. However the door didn't budge. "Eh?" after trying again Mitsuhiko stepped aside. "Yurie, the door got stuck"

"Uh, Mitsu-chan, I think it's more likely..." Yurie's words trailed off while she took the ID, turning it on. Her eyes widened when she saw what the ID said. "No wonder it didn't work! This isn't Takayama-kun's ID"

"Whose ID is that one?" Hosoya approached. Yurie turned it around so both male commanders could see the picture and the name.

**Koshimizu's ID**

_The ID that belongs to Tetsurou Koshimizu. Found in Takayama's pocket._

"Koshimizu-san? Interesting..." Mitsuhiko took the ID and saved it for the trial "So he isn't authorized. We need to find somebody who can enter here"

"No problem, I have a list of that too" Yurie showed a small list "There are not many commanders who can enter, take a look"

Mamoru Takayama

Kyrie Mimori

Yurie Oyama

Tohya Sasuga

**List of Authorized Commanders**

_The commanders whom ID allow them to enter the Electronics Workshop. Takayama, Mimori, Yurie and Sasuga are the only ones in the list_

Yurie passed her own ID through the slot and the door unlocked with a loud click. The hunter didn't waste any time entering with Yurie, but he stopped Hosoya at the entrance. "No, no, no. You're staying outside. Go away"

Hosoya's expression showed his displeasure "Fine! I'm out. Choke on something and die, I don't deserve this kind of treatment" and he walked away, stomping on the floor. Rolling his eyes the hunter focused on the Electronics Workshop.

Looking from the door like Sasuga had done there was nothing out of place. However that didn't mean there was nothing to be found. To show what that meant there were two strange things on one side of the room, out of sight from the entrance.

"Is that a mannequin?" Mitsuhiko approached the humanoid shape, looking at it with attention. It was a mannequin a bit taller than him, made of plastic and felt, and thrown aside to a chair as if it were trash. The mannequin was completely naked, but despite its apparent normalcy there were two details that made Mitsuhiko wonder what was up with the mannequin.

One, it was completely out of place in the Electronics Workshop.

And two, it had a deep cut on the neck.

**Mannequin**

_A large mannequin found in the Electronics Workshop. It had no clothes on. The mannequin has a deep cut in the neck area._

"I suppose it's from the Theater Workshop" Yurie said, opening one of the cabinets of the workshop.

"Then why is it here?" Mitsuhiko asked, but Yurie simply shrugged, focused on her own investigation. The hunter continued onto the second object, which was placed behind the chair. It was a short rope, just a couple meters long.

**Rope**

_A rope found in the Electronics Workshop. Two meters long._

"What the...Mitsu-chan, look at this!" Yurie had opened the last cabinet and had stepped back, shocked. Alarmed, Mitsuhiko peered into the cabinet and frowned. It definitely explained Yurie's surprise.

"What are these objects doing here...?" he mused, picking them up. They were a pair of glasses and a set of clothes Mitsuhiko knew very well.

**Takayama's Glasses**

_Glasses belonging to Takayama. They were found in a cabinet of the Electronics Workshop_

**Takayama's Clothes**

_An intense red rubber suit and a sturdy set of plates forming an armor, trademark clothes Takayama used during his stay in the Headquarters. Found in a cabinet of the Electronics Workshop._

"So Takayama was here when he changed his clothes? I don't know, there's something odd in this whole thing..." Mitsuhiko commented.

"I think it's because he's using a tuxedo from the Theater Workshop. Why aren't his clothes there?

"Exactly, it must be that. I think. Is there anything else around here?" Yurie shook her head, so both commanders left the Electronics Workshop. They indeed had found some interesting details in there, but they weren't enough for Mitsuhiko to say without a doubt what had happened.

"I'm going to the kitchen now. I'm starving" Yurie said "Are you coming?"

"In a while, first I want to check the Carpentry Workshop. The hat stand in the Theater Workshop had come from there, after all" Yurie accepted Mitsuhiko's plan and left towards the first floor while the hunter went to his new destination.

In the Carpentry Workshop he found Kobayashi, looking intently at an open tool box on a table. "Amy, did that tool box insult your mother or something?"

Kobayashi lifted his head for a moment before putting his hand in it, taking out a single object: a screwdriver. "There's nothing strange in this place except this box, and in there I found this screwdriver. It shows signs of having been used intensively, see?" Kobayashi passed the screwdriver to Mitsuhiko, who looked at it carefully. The tip showed scratches and was chipped, somebody sure had done something intensive with that tool.

"Yeah, you're right, but this could mean anything. Anybody can have used it"

"You're right but I haven't seen anybody use it" Kobayashi took the screwdriver back, putting it in the box again.

"Because anybody who uses a screwdriver must notify you, right? Don't be so narcissistic, Amy" Mitsuhiko said with the intention to bother Kobayashi, but he didn't show signs of feeling annoyed by that. Instead he left the tool box aside and went away without saying anything else.

**Screwdriver**

_A screwdriver from a toolbox from the Carpentry Workshop. Shows signs of having been used in a difficult task._

As his investigation of the Carpentry Workshop didn't show anything worthwhile Mitsuhiko went to the Cafeteria, where he guessed Yurie would be waiting for him. Effectively, the Hacking Demon was sitting there nibbling at what seemed like peanuts. Seeing he'd need to look for his own food he entered the Kitchen, finding Mitsuishi there. "Mitsuishi-kun, did Koshimizu-san find what he was looking for?"

"He's taking that machine to the trial, if that's what you mean" Mitsuishi replied "He didn't even want to tell me what he listened there. Can you believe that guy?"

"Koshimizu-san is a jerk" the hunter replied with satisfaction, opening the fridge "But he has done a lot more for the investigation than you, at least"

"Oh yeah? Next time I'll sit aside without finding important evidence, then" Mitsuishi replied huffily.

"Important evidence?" Mitsuhiko closed the fridge, holding some toast "Like what?"

"Like this towel over here" Mitsuishi extended a small kitchen towel, holding it near Mitsuhiko's face "Smell it" After hesitating for a moment Mitsuhiko obeyed and found out why Mitsuishi had taken that piece of evidence.

"It smells sweetly...but not very much"

"It's also completely wet. I think the culprit used it to clean something and then attempted to wash it"

**Towel**

_A towel from the kitchen. Soaking wet and has a slight sweet smell._

"And that's not the only thing that was wet and smelled sweet, either. This is exactly the same" Mitsuishi put the towel aside and picked a kitchen knife from the rack. Just like he had said it had clear droplets of water, but unlike the towel Mitsuhiko wasn't going to put it near his face.

"Are you sure it smells sweet?"

"Completely should also know that it's identical to the bloody knife Romi-san found in Camp Lily"

**Wet Kitchen Knife**

_A knife that was washed shortly before its discovery. It has a slight sweet smell and is identical to the knife used to commit the murder._

"Okay, Mitsuishi-kun, I admit you did something good. Color me surprised"

"I was more useful than you, I bet" Mitsuishi said, but before Mitsuhiko could demonstrate he had done a lot more work than most commanders the speakers sounded with Monobear's annoying voice.

"Bastards, I'm tired of seeing you walking around. Come to the Meeting Room and let's start the trial!"

"Great. It's time to go" Mitsuhiko rubbed his eyes. He barely had the time to eat his toast before arriving to the Meeting Room with Mitsuishi and Yurie. Soon the rest of the commanders arrived and sat in their places, waiting for the trial to start. Just like Mitsuishi had said Koshimizu brought Takayama's recordings, and just after Lily arrived and took her place to the side of Monobear's throne the bear appeared.

"Aren't you all excited for this new trial? Who's going to get executed today? Let's find out! Let the trial for the murder of Mamoru Takayama start!"

Right, there are several suspects and the evidence is pointing to three concrete people. But which _one could be the guilty party? And did the culprit have an accomplice that could go to the Third Floor or...could the culprit be Monobear's mole?_

_I can't avoid feeling there's something I'm not considering, but what is it?_


	13. Chapter 2: Locked - Trial I

"First a short reminder of how the trial works: if you vote for the culprit that commander will be executed. But if you vote for an innocent commander everybody except the culprit will be executed and the culprit will be part of the Main Board. Now start!"

After Monobear's little speech Mitsuhiko buried his face in his hands. This wasn't going to be a fun trial for him. "So Takayama-kun was killed early this morning and there are three suspects: Romi-san, Hikari-kun and Koshimizu-san" Kobayashi summarized, pointing at each suspect with the finger. "Which one do you think is the murderer?"

"Koshimizu-san, of course" Mitsuishi replied "There are too many things pointing at him for him to not to be the culprit"

"Oh dear" Koshimizu sighed "Okay, first than all, why are those who were gassed the suspects here? Anybody would think we'd be cleared"

"That's exactly why you're the suspects! Look, I'm sure the culprit gassed himself or herself to avoid suspicion" Kobayashi informed.

"Yeah, because there's no better way to avoid suspicion than almost drugging yourself to death!"

"Extreme circumstances require extreme measures. That's what this journalist says" Mimori already had her notepad ready. "Whatcha say, Koshimizu-san?"

"I say you're all crazy if you think I'd do that" the doctor mumbled "Besides I'd like to hear about this 'the culprit drugged themselves" theory you all dredged up"

"Give credit where it's due, Sugita-san coined it" Fukuyama said. Sugita wasn't too happy being labeled as the author, but accepted it reluctantly when Koshimizu glared at her.

"Um, it's like Kobayashi-kun said, you did it because you wanted to avoid suspicion"

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Broken Lock / Entrance Records / Broken Bottles / Rope / Toolbox_

* * *

SUGITA: If we thought you got attacked...

SUGITA: ...that'd mean you'd get away with it

KOSHIMIZU: Is that the only thing you have against me?

SASUGA: There's a lot of evidence against you

SASUGA: The bottles are just a tiny detail.

KOSHIMIZU: But I don't get it!

ROMI: You're **_the only one_** with access...

ROMI: ...to the pills used for the gases

EMIKO: You also must **have experience**...

EMIKO: ...with chemistry, as a doctor

SASUGA: And finally, **you'd know how much**...

SASUGA: ...anesthetic you should inhale to knock yourself out

SASUGA: You know, without killing yourself in the process

MITSUHIKO: The bottles are the base for this theory, right?

SASUGA: It's part of it

SASUGA: After all they **don't point to anybody else**

SASUGA: The use of anesthetics links him to the murder

* * *

"No, this is wrong. This can't be pointing at Koshimizu-san, it's illogical" Mitsuhiko objected, attracting some inquisitive expressions "It just doesn't make sense"

"What doesn't make sense? Who else would use anesthetics to create an alibi?" Hosoya asked, trying his hardest to not to roll his eyes in annoyance.

"Romi-san and you don't know enough about chemistry and medicine to create the gases" Yurie pointed, but Mitsuhiko shook his hands, undeterred.

"No! That's not what I mean. I don't doubt Koshimizu-san knows enough to create the mixture in the bottles, but don't you think he'd at least make sure he wasn't in risk of dying?"

Several commanders started attacking Mitsuhiko, telling him that nothing mattered because nobody else could work with the chemicals, but then Kishio stood up and barked an order, making everybody silent. Once the silence was total she spoke. "What do you mean, Hikari-kun? I'm willing to give you a listen before deciding if your argument has merit, _només una oportunitat_ "

"Look, Koshimizu-san may create an alibi like you all has said it, but I think if he were going to do that he'd at least make sure he wasn't in any risk of dying. However if he made the bottles then he gave himself a _full dose_ of the anesthetics. That's risky!"

"Having a lesser dose would make me stand out" the rebuttal came from the person Mitsuhiko didn't expect to hear arguing. Koshimizu himself had raised a finger, apparently bored with the procedures "I don't mean to incriminate myself but giving myself a lesser dose would be idiotic"

"Even if it means you could die?"

"If I were a killer then my life would be in risk already. Execution happens, you know"

The hunter deflated, unsure of how to counter Koshimizu's rebuttal. "But...if giving you a lesser dose would make you stand out then...wouldn't this make a concrete person stand up?"

"Who? Tell us" Yurie took Mitsuhiko's hand, squeezing it with a lot of strength. The hunter looked around, his eyes falling on a person.

* * *

Mitsuhiko Hikari

Emiko Tanaka

Mamoru Takayama

Akira Hosoya

Kimiko Sugita

Harumi Kayano

Tetsurou Koshimizu

Chiyo Yasumoto

Sumida Kishio

Kouhei Kobayashi

Daisuke Mitsuishi

Kumakichi Fukuyama

Hiyoko Romi

Kyrie Mimori

Yurie Oyama

Tohya Sasuga

* * *

**Hiyoko Romi**

* * *

"Romi-san's bottle had less content, that's what I have heard. I think that'd make her more of a suspect"

"Is this for real?" Sasuga asked "Do you think a blind woman like Romi-san would be capable of working with chemicals?"

"Don't underestimate me, Sasuga-kun" Romi said bluntly "But you're right, I can't have done that. There's not even a place here that could work as a laboratory...at least on this floor"

"That reminds me! We need to find somebody who could have done this without the Third Floor laboratories" Yurie exclaimed, getting Mitsuhiko's attention. That was exactly a point that he had wanted to bring up.

"That's not even possible, there are no materials or chemicals" Mitsuishi replied, crossing his arms.

"Are we all completely sure it's impossible? The kitchen could be good enough"

"Nothing in the kitchen could extract the chemicals from sleeping pills" Sugita said "I know it very well"

"There's a possibility" Sasuga claimed before Mitsuhiko had the chance to do it "The culprit went into the third floor and used one of the laboratories up there"

"But nobody would be able to get through the grates!" Emiko argued but her voice showed she wasn't completely confident about that.

"There's one way: being Monobear's mole among us. What I mean is that somebody is in cahoots with Monobear and used that status as mole to get the materials needed" the Roboticist concluded. Mitsuhiko grinned with some contempt. _That's not exactly what I was going to say but this could lead to something good._

"Who would accept being a mole? There's nothing to be gained with that!"

"You're so wrong!" Romi laughed "The use of stuff nobody else has access to is enough incentive to take part in Monobear's game.

"So the culprit is...Monobear's mole?" Mimori tried to get that point clarified, unsure "But if it hadn't been for the murder we wouldn't even suspect there's a mole. But maybe the culprit was confident they'd get away with it"

"But then who is Monobear's mole?" Fukuyama put his hand on his mask, as if he were expecting to get accused just because he's hiding his face between a mask with the face of the bear. "It's not me, just so you know"

"No idea. If we had some sort of clue..."

"We do" Mitsuhiko started "There's something I must tell you all, it's something that happened while I was locked" And then the hunter started telling how Monobear had approached to him and tried to convince him to be his mole. Some of the commanders seemed skeptic about Mitsuhiko's tale, maybe because they didn't trust the hunter. For all they knew he was lying about what he had answered to Monobear.

"I think you'd accept without thinking it twice" Sasuga mumbled bitterly but Mitsuhiko ignored it.

"I can prove I rejected the offer. Koshimizu-san, the recordings!"

"Is that why you asked me to check them? So I could confirm it?" Koshimizu inquired flatly but did start looking for the exact recording.

"No! You know why I told you about that!"

"I know, I know. It wasn't serious" Koshimizu disconnected the headphones, once he had found the correct recording he played it aloud for everybody. Everybody listened how Monobear offered to Mitsuhiko being his mole and how the hunter rejected it, which was also followed by Takayama's short conversation with Mitsuhiko. Once it was finished the commanders had no other option than accepting Mitsuhiko had told the truth.

"So...that eliminates Mitsu-chan from the suspect list. Koshimizu-san and Romi-san are left" Yurie declared, glaring at both.

"Couldn't Monobear had returned later to make the offer again?" Romi asked. It was possible she had thought Mitsuhiko was the culprit, but soon the doctor shot down that line of reasoning.

"I already checked the recordings after that point for not only Mitsuhiko but also the other two. Monobear never approached again any of the cells"

_Oh._ The hunter thought for a moment. If Monobear didn't return to the cell then that meant neither Hosoya or Yurie had accepted to cooperate with Monobear. "Has any of you seen Monobear talking to anybody?" the replies were all negative. Unless Koshimizu went checking the recordings for the two days they wouldn't find out anything. Or...it maybe wasn't even during those two days! Maybe Monobear already had one and was looking for another.

There was simply not enough time to check extensively the recordings. They were going to need to find out the culprit in some other way.

"If you ask me I'd say Koshimizu-san is the most likely to be the culprit" Mimori said the general opinion "Unless...can any of you see Romi-san working with chemicals and the such?"

"I can't. Any defense, Koshimizu-san?" Sasuga leaned to the side, observing the doctor carefully. The Medical Demon was pretty calmed, as if he already knew he wouldn't be named the culprit. However Mitsuhiko wasn't convinced of his guilt. _There are several logical flaws in any accusation against Koshimizu-san. It should be easy to clear him of any suspicion, there's no way he did all this! Come on everybody! Do your best._

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Rope / Toolbox / Towel / Bloody Kitchen Knife / Rubber Containers_

* * *

MITSUHIKO: What I want to know is...

MITSUHIKO: ...why do you guys think he's the culprit?

KISHIO: Because he had **access to the pills** needed for this

MITSUISHI: Because he **knows enough about chemistry**

YURIE: Because he's **in the Infirmary all the time**

MITSUHIKO: All that is circumstantial. Anything else?

SASUGA: He had **the gun** **that broke the cabinet lock**

FUKUYAMA: **He gassed himself** to create an alibi

HOSOYA: And finally, **his ID** was in Takayama-kun's pocket

KISHIO One single clue wouldn't be enough

KISHIO: But six? I think this is the best suspect we could have

MITSUHIKO: How did none of you realize...

MITSUHIKO: ...that one of those statements...

MITSUHIKO: ... **shows his innocence**?

* * *

"One of those shows his innocence? Which one, then?" Sasuga inquired with honest wonder, knowing that Mitsuhiko has a good head on his shoulders.

"The one you yourself said, Sasuga-kun. You have provided me the key to demonstrate his innocence" Mitsuhiko said and smiled "And I do mean _the key_ "

"I don't understand..."

"Look, the cabinet was locked and the culprit had to use my gun to break the lock, am I right?"

"Well yes, and we all know Koshimizu-san has that gun, so I don't see how..." Sasuga tried to say but Mitsuhiko interrupted him quickly.

"Stop there! Tell me, who has the key to that cabinet?" the hunter arrived to the point he had wanted to make. Some of the commanders slowly understood what he meant, and soon Mitsuhiko had the answer he wanted.

"I locked the Infirmary cabinet several days ago" Koshimizu informed "So I had the key"

"But if he had the key..." Sasuga was one of the commanders that understood what Mitsuhiko was saying. "Then why did he use the gun to break the cabinet? It wouldn't make any sense"

"It's the opposite: it makes perfect sense" the doctor grinned "Look, if I used the gun then I could make it look like somebody that wasn't me opened the cabinet"

"You're not doing yourself any favors by admitting that, you know" Emiko commented

"It'd be worse if I didn't say anything. I know what I'm doing, but just in case remember you all know I have that gun"

"You could have done it so you could say that" Fukuyama shrugged, earning a glare from the doctor.

"Are we going to get into the whole 'reverse psychology' shtick? Because I won't take part in that"

"As I see it there's a possibility" Mitsuishi said "The culprit gassed Koshimizu so they could steal the gun and use it!"

"Doesn't make sense. Why to steal the gun and not the key of the cabinet? That'd be more definite in framing me"

"The culprit was looking for the key but didn't find it. Instead they took the gun because it was the second best possibility" Sugita predicted, satisfied with her reasoning "I'm sure that's how this went!"

Really? Is it my imagination or is there something wrong here...?

* * *

_The order of the events_

_The object the culprit was searching for_

_The targeted person_

_There's no mistake_

* * *

**_The order of the events_ **

* * *

"This is a huge mistake" Mitsuhiko declared "You're getting this mixed up and if I let it continue this'll end in disaster"

"Okay, what's wrong?" Koshimizu asked, looking at Mitsuhiko with polite disinterest.

"The order of the events is mistaken. Look, you're all saying that Koshimizu was gassed so the culprit could steal the gun or the key, right?"

"That's my personal conclusion too" Mimori showed something written in large letters in her notebook: 'Koshimizu was framed: that's the truth"

"Then tell me this: how was Koshimizu gassed? What was used?"

"The anesthetics, of course!" Kishio answered. Mitsuhiko grinned, ready to lay in the open the big contradiction.

"So tell me, how was Koshimizu gassed if the culprit was stealing the gun or the key precisely to get to the sleeping pills used to create the mixture?"

The reactions were of disbelief. They had practically gone in circles, having the order of the events wrongly. If they couldn't get that right then what else could they get wrong?

"We're in trouble. Okay, who opened the cabinet?" Mitsuishi inquired.

"And with what? Because it can't have been with the gun if Koshimizu had it all the time" Fukuyama pointed. That was the very next problem to solve.

"No, it's clear it was with the gun and a bullet from it" Kishio argued "I examined that lock and it fits perfectly. I'm sure of it"

"So...the culprit had the gun before gassing Koshimizu-san? Maybe it was stolen before last night"

"I had the gun and the key with me all the times, except when I was sleeping. It's impossible it was stolen before last night" Koshimizu replied. In that moment Mitsuhiko raised his hand, thinking of something potentially incriminating related to the existence of a mole.

"I think I know how the gun could have been used without it being Koshimizu-san's gun"

"No way, what farfetched scenario did you think now?" Romi gritted her teeth as if she didn't want anything other than shutting down Mitsuhiko.

"While I can't say it with 100% certainty I do know the caliber of the bullet found came from a Twin M9 Beretta. That's what I just thought...there's a reason why it's called a _Twin_ M9 Beretta" the hunter made a clear emphasis on that word. Emiko's jaw fell, knowing what he meant.

"An identical gun! It's part from a set!"

"Yes, exactly! I think an identical gun was used, as we all knew Koshimizu had one of those in his possession" Mitsuhiko looked to a side. "I'm not entirely sure, but if I had to guess it'd be..."

* * *

_Lily_

_The culprit_

_The mole_

_Monobear_

* * *

**_The mole_ **

* * *

"I'd say it was the mole. Monobear wouldn't be able to grasp a gun and he has claws, there'd be no need to use it. Lily...I can't think it's her. She has lasers, getting rid of the lock wouldn't be problem"

"What about the culprit?"

"I don't have any proof but I think that if the culprit were the mole they wouldn't have tried to kill. It's a tad early for Monobear to lose his mole"

"Maybe Monobear was looking for a mole because it already happened. Kayano-san or Yasumoto-san could have been a mole" suggested Sugita.

"Either way I think the laboratory AND the gun show the mole was involved. What I don't know yet is why I was drugged, then. Maybe it really was just to frame me"

"You mean by making us think you'd gas yourself to avoid suspicion?"

**EXACTLY**

"That's the only possibility I can see. Quite a lousy frame job, if you ask me"

"I think there was some kind of ulterior motive..."

"But neither the gun I have or the key were needed! The culprit tried unsuccessfully to frame me, that's it" Koshimizu crossed his arms stubbornly.

_Koshimizu-san is convinced the culprit was just trying to frame him and failed. But as I see it he doesn't know all the facts. Otherwise he would have realized already what the culprit was aiming for!_

_Let's do it._

* * *

**Rebuttal Showdown**

* * *

List of Authorized Commanders / Broken Cabinet Lock / Mitsuhiko's Gun and Bullet / Monobear File #2 / Koshimizu's ID

* * *

KOSHIMIZU: The core of the culprit's plan was to frame me

KOSHIMIZU: That's why a gun similar to the one I had was used

KOSHIMIZU: Because everybody knew I had it

KOSHIMIZU: That's why the sleeping pills were used

KOSHIMIZU: And finally, that's why I was gassed

KOSHIMIZU: What other reason could the culprit have?

MITSUHIKO: It was to get access to something...

MITSUHIKO: ...the culprit wouldn't have access otherwise

KOSHIMIZU: The pills are pretty much **the only thing** that fits

KOSHIMIZU: And even then anybody could have them

KOSHIMIZU: And you yourself said **the gun had a copy**

KOSHIMIZU: So enlighten me, Hikari-kun

KOSHIMIZU: What could I have in my bedroom...

KOSHIMIZU: ...that couldn't be obtained **anywhere else**?

* * *

"This is what the culprit was looking for" Mitsuhiko took out the evidence he had saved for a moment like this: Koshimizu's ID. Koshimizu narrowed his eyes.

"An ID?"

"Not just any ID. It's _your_ ID" Mitsuhiko turned it one and put it on the table, sliding it towards its owner. Koshimizu grabbed it, his face showing for the first time during the trial some surprise.

"But that's impossible, I have my ID in my pocket..." he murmured and took out an ID from his pocket, turning it on. The face and name that greeted him made him scowl. "Motherfucker"

It was Takayama's ID.

"What explanation is there for that, Hikari-kun?" Mimori asked, biting her pen "The culprit took the victim's ID and changed it with Koshimizu's?"

"I'd say that's what happened "Mitsuhiko shrugged. That seemed like the logical conclusion.

"Right"

"So...does this mean Koshimizu-san is innocent?" Sasuga seemed pretty downcast about the loss of his main suspect. Mitsuhiko couldn't avoid feeling a lot of satisfaction in knowing he had once again led the commanders into the right direction.

At least until Romi cleared her throat. "That's nice and all but this all has an explanation that fits the Koshimizu Culprit Theory"

Mitsuhiko stared at her, not fully believing that was even possible. "No way...you can't have an argument..."

"I do. Listen everybody! Here's what happened! The Tale of the Medical Demon!" Romi stood up, strumming an imaginary guitar. Once she was sure she had everybody's attention she went ahead with her argument:

* * *

** Climax Inference **

* * *

_Koshimizu-san had an evil plan; he had planned to kill a man...damn, I can't compose under pressure. Either way, Koshimizu-san is the culprit. He used the gun to shoot the cabinet lock and took the pills, that was done so it would look like he hadn't done it. Then he went to the third floor, it doesn't matter if he went with the mole or if he IS the mole, the point is that he got into the laboratories and prepared the content of the bottles._

_Once the mixes were prepared he executed his plan, gassing Hikari-kun, Takayama-kun and me. Since Takayama-kun wasn't conscious he took the chance to drag him or carry him to the Theater Workshop, where he killed him and hid the body in the cabinet._

_But that wasn't all he did. He took Takayama-kun's ID and used it to open the Electronic Workshop, hiding evidence in there like Takayama-kun's clothes, but somehow when returning the ID he got confused and placed his own in Takayama-kun's pocket._

_When he returned to his bedroom he started the last part of his plan: gassing himself. He threw the bottle to the floor and let the anesthetics knock him out. He used the big dose on purpose to make it look like he wouldn't do such a thing, and as you see, that's how the tale ends!_

* * *

"This has got to be a terrible joke" Koshimizu pinched his nose "Tell me she isn't serious"

"I'm deadly serious. My life is in risk here!" the Lyricist Demon vehemently protested, slamming the table "That's what happened and it's my final answer!"

"Romi-san, there are so many mistakes in your retelling of the events I don't even know where to start" Mitsuhiko said, his voice being perfectly monotonous. It didn't make him be in the Lyricist's good graces, as she gritted her teeth.

"Too bad! That's what happened! If you think there are so many flaws as you say there are then tell me what it is!"

"Calm down, don't get all riled up..."

"I'm getting as riled up as I want! Come on; take me to school if that's what you want! Tell me what you have in your mind"

_It'll be a pleasure to "school you". I'll aim for the biggest flaw in her reasoning and let it be everything I need to say. She'll shut up in no time._

* * *

**Panic Talk Battle**

* * *

ROMI: My argument is perfect

ROMI: If it isn't him then who?

ROMI: You didn't do it!

ROMI: I didn't do it!

ROMI: Oyama-san didn't do it!

ROMI: Hosoya-kun didn't do it!

ROMI: It wasn't suicide

ROMI: It wasn't an accident

ROMI: Everything fits perfectly

ROMI: Stop denying my reasoning!

* * *

**Why were we gassed?**

* * *

"Yours was a tale of many mistakes, but there's a concrete one that gets my attention" Mitsuhiko said, pointing at himself and at Romi intermittently "Why was I gassed? Why were you gassed? How does that fit with your theory?"

"Oooooh..." Romi was taken aback by the objection. That indeed was something she hadn't kept in mind. "I don't know..."

"Right. If you can't answer that then your idea of Koshimizu-san being the culprit can't be taken seriously. Sorry, you failed" Mitsuhiko said smugly, enjoying how Romi looked as if her dreams got denied and destroyed.

"But then...he must be the culprit. He must be!"

"Why are you so sure it's him? Your theory got destroyed, you have no base to say that" Hosoya said almost exasperated. Romi looked at the ceiling, feeling hopeless.

"It's the only option there is. We're five suspects. Oyama-san, Hosoya-kun and Hikari-kun were in the cells. He's the only option!"

"No, there's one more" Mitsuhiko said slowly. "You. You could be the culprit"

"Again, do you think Romi-san would be capable of everything that was needed to kill Takayama-kun?" Mitsuishi inquired.

"Not of everything, but if she had help then...she definitely could have killed him"

"Please don't say that, Hikari-kun" Romi said "I can't have done it"

"I said earlier that your bottle had a smaller dose than the others. Why could have that been, I wonder?" the hunter remembered, although he wasn't sure of where he could go with that.

"So what?"

"Look, it's process of elimination. So let me ask you: did you kill him?"

"I didn't kill Takayama-kun"

"Yeah, nothing points at her, Hikari-kun. What are you trying to do?" Mimori asked, perplexed at the concept of the resident blind woman having committed such a complicated crime.

"I'm trying to find out what happened, that's what I'm doing. It's just that Romi-san is the most suspicious one right now"

"Maybe Romi-san is so desperate about blaming Koshimizu-san because she did this" Kobayashi supposed.

"Oh, come on!" Romi exclaimed "How would I be able to do that?"

"Romi-san, let me ask you something" Mitsuhiko said slowly "Did you by any chance...see anything last night?"

The blind lyricist went silent for a moment before asking. "Why do you think I would have seen anything? It was sleeping time and I was gassed. There's no reason for me to having seen anything"

"But it's just that I don't see any reason for you to having been gassed in the first place! And with less anesthetic than the others, nonetheless. There must be something about you or about you had that the culprit could need"

"Or she is the culprit" Kobayashi piped up.

"Maybe. That's possible too. Was there any evidence that could be linked to Romi-san?"

"Nothing. If it weren't for the bottle nobody would suspect her involvement" Mitsuishi replied, remembering every piece of evidence so far.

"Look, as I see it there are two possibilities: either Romi-san is the culprit or the culprit wanted something with Romi-san"

"Guys? I just thought of something..." Koshimizu had turned pale, he looked aghast at whatever thought he had. "What if she isn't the culprit or the person who gassed Romi-san wasn't the culprit?"

"Who else would it be?" Fukuyama muttered behind his mask "It doesn't make sense"

"There's one person that was involved in a lot of unknown actions here. To this point we don't know anything about what he did. I'm talking about Takayama-kun"

"Are you saying Takayama-kun is the one who gassed us all? But he had a bottle too!" Emiko pointed

"It'd be very easy to stand outside of the bedroom and throw the bottle inside"

"You know that's something you could do too, right?" Yurie asked, but Koshimizu didn't have any importance to that.

"Doesn't matter! But remember everything we have seen related to Takayama-kun in this case. Let's go straight to the point: what's up with his clothes? Why did he change them and lock them in the Electronics Workshop, a place very few of us could reach? I'm sure Takayama-kun was planning something"

"Something like what?" Fukuyama wasn't following. It seemed that everything he had done so far was asking questions like that one.

"Something like...like killing Romi-san?" the Medical Demon finished his thought. The possibility of Takayama murdering anybody wasn't something he wanted to think. _That may be what happened! Maybe we could take a path from here, but not in the way Koshimizu-san is thinking. There's more here than we think. It's just a matter of connecting the dots..._

* * *

**Logic Dive**

* * *

1: Of all the suspects, which one could have entered the Electronic Workshop?

* * *

Romi

Koshimizu

Takayama

Mitsuhiko

Hosoya

* * *

**Takayama**

* * *

2: Why would Romi be targeted instead of any other?

* * *

Due to her disability

Due to her unlocked bedroom

Due to her profession

* * *

**Due to her disability**

* * *

3: How could Takayama take advantage of Romi's blindness?

* * *

Gassing her

Hiding potential evidence in plain sight

Changing his clothes to avoid identification

* * *

**Changing his clothes to avoid identification**

* * *

4: Despite all those points what's the most likely reason to get Romi involved?

* * *

She was a collateral victim

She was involved in a murder plan

She was planned to be the victi

She was never intended to get involved

* * *

**She was involved in a murder plan**

* * *

5: In what way was she involved in the plan?

* * *

She was an unwilling accomplice

She was a willing accomplice

She's the culprit

She's the mole

* * *

**She was an unwilling accomplice**

* * *

"Guys, I think I see how this goes" Mitsuhiko announced "Look, we can all agree that Takayama-kun was planning something and Romi-san was involved. And the only thing Romi-san could do in this case is...to be an unwilling accomplice!"

"Unwilling accomplice?" Kobayashi exclaimed

"Yes! Romi-san was gassed with so little anesthetic so she wouldn't be knocked out until the morning. It's possible Takayama brought her to the second floor and once she was up there she woke up, ready to see what the culprit wanted her to see"

"Why couldn't she be a willing accomplice?" Sasuga inquired, paying attention.

"Because if she were I doubt she would have been gassed in the first place. Doing that brought attention to her as a suspect, I think that if it had been intended for her to take part of this they would have been more careful to not to link her in any way to the plan"

"Couldn't she have been planned to be a victim?" Fukuyama suggested. To him it seemed more logical she was targeted by the bodyguard.

"Why to make all this circus to kill her? He could have just sneaked into his bedroom to kill her during the night. No, I'm sure there was a reason to do all this with her.

"You think you know everything" Romi said spitefully "Then say it, how was I going to be an unwilling accomplice, exactly?"

"Well remember Romi-san is blind but not completely blind. She can see colors and shapes" the hunter pointed "If I had to guess I suppose Takayama-kun was planning to use her as a witness for the crime he was going to make"

"And who was going to be a victim, then?" Koshimizu asked the question everybody had in their minds now. The bottles must have been involved in this. If I'm right then…

"…I don't like to say it but I think the victim was going to be…"

* * *

Mitsuhiko Hikari

Hiyoko Romi

Mamoru Takayama

Tetsurou Koshimizu

* * *

**Mitsuhiko Hikari**

* * *

"I think it was going to be me. We already defined how everybody else who was gassed was involved in the crime…except for me. Takayama-kun must have broken the lock to get to me and drag me away to one of the workshops"

The silence was dense for a moment. It all was starting to fit, apparently. Takayama was going to be a murderer and had drugged Romi to be part of it. That kind of thing could only be done by a monster.

"Hold on" Koshimizu broke the silence "There's something bothering me: if Romi-san was gassed and was in the workshop with Takayama…why didn't she say anything? We have been reunited here for a while already; she could have taken the time to tell us what had happened instead of letting us argue in circles. I think there's something going on with Romi-san"

Some commanders started whispering among them. "He's right! Why didn't she say anything?" Yurie wondered.

"W-Well, it's that…" Romi tried to defend herself but it was clear she was at a loss of words. Since she didn't say anything the others pounced on the possibility that presented.

"She may be the mole" Hosoya suggested but Sasuga didn't agree with that.

"No! The mole is the person who got into the laboratories and made the anesthetics. She can't have done that"

"If she's not the mole then the only other possibility is that she killed Takayama-kun" Yurie argued, feeling confident about her statement.

"Maybe it was self-defense?" Koshimizu mulled.

"Maybe, but no matter what happened it's clear the reason she didn't say anything must be because it was a danger to her life" Fukuyama replied, echoing the thoughts of other commanders.

"Then she IS the culprit!" Kishio exclaimed.

"No, I'm not!" Romi protested aloud, but when she got asked to defend herself nothing she said worked to deny the accusation. And to a side, Mitsuhiko kept watching.

The possibility of Romi being the culprit wasn't unlikely. As he saw it maybe Romi, furious with Takayama for gassing her and getting her onto the workshops, took advantage of a distraction from the bodyguard and attacked him. The knife surely was the weapon Takayama was going to use against the hunter.

_That seems logical and all. I could get behind that._

"Do you think she did it?" Mitsuishi asked to Mitsuhiko. The hunter nodded, almost sure.

"To me it looks like she killed Takayama-kun"

"I don't know what to think…there's something bothering me" the acrobat whispered back. Mitsuhiko, unsure of what he meant, leaned to the side until their heads were almost touching "Look, it's true many of the clues we found fit with the Romi Culprit Theory, but what about the rest? There are also many that just…don't mesh well with this. Have you thought about that?"

"Not really" But the hunter had to admit had a point. A lot of evidence didn't seem to have a place in what they had defined so far. It was possible there was more about the crime than they thought "But that doesn't exonerate Romi-san. We could find how everything fits in the theory with her being the culprit"

"True that, but I have a clue that practically negates everything you people have said. I'm not showing it yet, I want to see Romi-san sweat. Let's think of her just like a witness more. Maybe if we pressure her enough she'll break and tell us what she saw…or heard. In one way or another I'm completely sure Romi-san is the cornerstone of this case"

_Okay, I suppose_. "So, Romi-san!" Mitsuhiko said loudly "Do you have anything else to tell us? Why don't you say once and for all what happened last night?

Are you or are you not the culprit?"


	14. Chapter 2: Locked - Trial II

Mitsuhiko didn't really have the patience to deal with this mess for any longer, but he knew to hide his impatience. Still, if Romi refused to say more then that could only mean she was the culprit, didn't it?

"I'm NOT the culprit" Romi replied. The hunter nodded.

"Nice. Say what happened, please"

Romi didn't obey, instead she lowered her head. That was precisely what she shouldn't do if she was really innocent, and everybody knew that. "She isn't saying anything" said gravely "That's as good as a confession"

"Are you all going to start voting?" Monobear asked. Several commanders nodded and soon Mitsuhiko couldn't avoid agreeing with them. If Romi were really innocent she wouldn't hide, right? Monobear, satisfied, stood on his throne. "Excellent! This trial ended faster than the first one. Are you going to vote correctly? Let's find out!"

"Guys, wait" Mitsuishi said firmly. Everybody turned their attentions to him, as he had interrupted just before the voting. "I don't think we should go ahead with the vote yet"

"Why not? Romi-san practically admitted she's the culprit. Not saying anything is equal to admitting her guilt!" Kobayashi exclaimed, impatient for ending the trial.

"Besides nobody here is close to her. She wouldn't do such thing as protecting others" Mitsuhiko pointed.

"And not only that, there's no reason to believe anybody else is involved. There's nobody else that could have killed him" Kishio added.

"Okay, listen here...you're all thinking that Takayama-kun gassed Romi-san and took her to the Theater Workshop. That's the core of this, right?"

"Of course it is! Haven't you been paying attention?" Yurie groaned.

"I can break that theory right now. Usually I would have let this continue but I never expected the theory to lead to the voting phase so soon. I hoped Romi-san would break down and tell everything!"

"Right, if you can break it do it now" Kishio ordered. Mitsuishi took his own ID and opened the Monobear file.

"Everybody here insists they're smart and wouldn't be fooled yet you all overlooked the most basic clue we have. Look and weep, idiots" the Flying Demon pointed at one single line in the file:

_The body registers high amounts of anesthetics without reaching fatal levels_

"No way!" Mitsuhiko exclaimed, horrified. That did break everything they had supposed so far.

"That's impossible...how can that..." Kobayashi muttered.

"Takayama-kun had anesthetics in his freaking blood. How can you expect him to have planned to kill anybody when he was a victim himself?!" Mitsuishi shouted, enraged.

"It all seemed logical, you can't blame us for-" Fukuyama started saying before Mitsuishi interrupted him.

"Did you all seriously think Takayama-kun would do such thing as killing one of us? After you saw how distraught he was when Yasumoto-san died?! It's unthinkable he would have done that!"

"He could have wanted to take the free spot in the Main Board-" Koshimizu said, interrupted too.

"You act as if you didn't talk to him during these two days! This is the guy who spent two whole days in his bedroom, listening to his microphones. This man made sure every single one of us were okay with no trouble. If it hadn't been for him we would have been at each other's throats"

"He didn't visit me or anything" Hosoya mumbled but everybody ignored him.

"And here I had thought I was the resident hypocrite. If he were buried he would have been rolling in his grave while you all called him a killer" Mitsuishi finished, grouchily crossing his arms.

"Too bad it's too late! We already started the voting process. Let's vote!" Monobear shouted, once again pointing at his right before Lily tackled him onto the throne.

"Everybody continue with the trial! There's no need to vote now" Lily exclaimed, holding down the thrashing bear.

"No! It's voting time! If you don't vote you'll all be executed!"

"And you'll end your fun. No more murders and the culprit won't be ascended into the Main Board. If that's what you want to do then go ahead, but I'm sure you won't" Lily whispered to him and slowly stood up, leaving Monobear down.

"Um, I'd like to vote now..." Hosoya started saying before he was shushed by other commanders. Strangely enough Monobear stayed perfectly still for a minute or two, hushed voices barely sounding through the bear's speaker.

"What's going on..." Emiko whispered to Kobayashi, who simply shrugged. It took a while until Monobear stood up, curiously sheepish.

"You may continue. Go ahead" he said, sitting back in his throne. For a moment all the commanders stayed in silence in case Monobear was going to say something else, at least until Monobear seemingly lost his patience "Are you going to continue or not?!"

"Okay, so...Takayama-kun wasn't going to kill somebody and have Romi-san be an accomplice. What now?"

"Now we need to think again" Hosoya said softly "So Romi-san isn't the culprit?"

"It'd be nice if you admitted that already..." Romi said, but she had a strange distant expression despite the clouded appearance of her eyes.

"Just because we found out Takayama-kun didn't gas anybody doesn't mean she isn't the culprit" Mitsuishi piped up.

"Yeah, but there's something this brings to the table and I don't know what to think of it: why the culprit took Takayama to the Theater Workshop to kill him and did all this mess instead of simply gassing him and then stabbing him?" Yurie inquired to everybody.

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

Broken Bottles / Broken Lock / Rubber Containers / Missing Medicine / Tuxedo

* * *

KISHIO: There must have been **_some kind of ulterior motive_**

KISHIO: Otherwise the culprit wouldn't have bothered

SUGITA: Romi-san **can't have done everything** , I'm sure of that

ROMI: Yeah, **I'd need help**. Am I innocent yet?

EMIKO: With the mole's help she could have done this crime

SASUGA: If not Romi-san then who? Koshimizu-san?

KOSHIMIZU: Since **Hosoya-kun's cell was closed** he can't be

KOSHIMIZU: It's **the same with Oyama** -san.

KOBAYASHI: Hikari-kun **could have done all this** , though

KOSHIMIZU: No, he can't. The recordings show he stayed in his cell.

KOSHIMIZU: ...that didn't sound either in the recordings!

KOSHIMIZU: There were **no anomalous sound** at all.

FUKUYAMA: The microphones **_could have been removed_**...

SUGITA: Did you check they were still in there when you woke him up?

KOSHIMIZU: No I didn't.

* * *

"That's so strange..." Mitsuhiko said "Koshimimzu-san, are you absolutely sure you heard nothing in the recording of the door of my cell?"

"Completely sure of it" Koshimizu put his hand over Takayama's machine "I listened to the whole night"

"But the lock of my cell was destroyed! If somebody hit it with enough strength to break it there would be a lot of noise recorded!"

Koshimizu put on the sound with as much volume as possible and quickly played the recording of the whole night with Mitsuhiko's cell. It took a while, but soon there was a verdict reached by everybody "This is not the sound of a lock being broken" Through the speaker everybody could hear a very, very hushed tinkling noise, like metal against metal. "That's not how the destruction of the cell lock would sound"

"Hosoya-kun's cell is directly to the side of Hikari-kun's cell. Couldn't the microphones of Hosoya-kun's cell have recorded that?" Romi suggested.

"Apparently Takayama-kun's microphones aren't that potent. They'd only record what happens in the nearby areas" Kishio said "He told me that several days ago"

"So...Hikari-kun is our new suspect now?" Sasuga asked almost bashfully. There was silence for a moment before the commanders expressed their thoughts.

"I think that there's something strange about the broken cell lock. Since we got so little evidence pointing towards people we should take what we have" Sugita said with some remorse. Despite their fight several days before that moment Mitsuhiko was still her friend.

"But he can't have contacted Monobear and obtained the mole's help. Koshimizu-san didn't hear anything like that" Kishio pointed.

"Writing something and passing it wouldn't cause any sounds" Koshimizu pointed "Either way Hikari-kun may not be in the clear, but as long as the matter of the sound we hear here and the lock aren't solved we can't accuse him"

"Let's focus on another part of the murder for now. What's the strangest thing about Takayama-kun? Let's go on that for now" Emiko suggested. _That's easy. There's one thing about Takayama that was glaringly out of place._

* * *

Monobear File #2

Tuxedo

Colorful Hat

Hat Stand

Rubber Containers

Broken Lock

Broken Bottles

Broken Cabinet Lock

Mitsuhiko's Gun and Bullet

Missing Medicine

Koshimizu's ID

Entrance Records

List of Authorized Commanders

Takayama's Glasses

Takayama's Clothes

Mannequin

Rope

Toolbox

Towel

Wet Kitchen Knife

Bloody Kitchen Knife

* * *

**Tuxedo**

* * *

"What was most out of place are the clothes Takayama-kun was wearing. Why was there such a huge change on that? We all know what Takayama-kun wore all this time, right?"

"Nobody else here looks like an armored red condom" Hosoya commented. While Mitsuhiko thought that could have been worded better he couldn't deny it was accurate.

"Yes, you're right. Why did the culprit change Takayama-kun's clothes? Also remember where they were found: in the Electronic Workshop, a place where not many of us can enter. The culprit used Takayama-kun's ID to enter there, I guess, and hid it there"

"Are you completely sure you don't know anything, Romi-san?" Fukuyama insisted, but this time Romi shook her head slower than she had done until that point. Something was starting to get in her head "There's something she's hiding and if she were an unwilling accomplice she would have talked already" Sugita decided "Who among us is close enough to Romi-san to be protected by her in a murder...in the risk of her own life?"

"Nobody, I think. I haven't seen anything that could hint that" Sugita replied. Fukuyama was about to proceed to interrogate everybody heavily about their relationships with Romi, but it was interrupted when the Lyricist stood up, taking deep breaths.

"I don't know any more what's going on. Nothing here makes sense and I'm terrified. I want to do nothing else than going away and forget any of this ever happened.

...I don't want to die"

"So are you confessing you're the culprit?" Fukuyama asked.

"No! At least I think there's something more complicated going on...but I don't know how to explain it" Romi seemed as lost as everybody else. _Romi-san wants to say something but unless somebody can tip her into the right direction we'll get nowhere._

_Just what could I tell her?_

* * *

**Logic Dive**

* * *

1: What's a detail not mentioned so far about the tuxedo?

* * *

It's very elegant

It had Koshimizu's ID in it

There are two of them

* * *

**There are two of them**

* * *

2: What was the purpose of changing Takayama's clothes?

* * *

Make Takayama look better than before

Disguise Takayama as somebody else

Change Takayama's identity

Make Takayama the victim

* * *

**Disguise Takayama as somebody else**

* * *

3: Did Romi attack somebody or something last night?

* * *

Yes

No

* * *

**Yes**

* * *

4: Is Romi responsible of Takayama's death

* * *

Yes

No

* * *

**No**

* * *

"Um, guys? I think I'm starting to crack down why Romi-san didn't want to say anything" Mitsuhiko claimed. Romi, who was still standing looked at him hopefully. "If what I'm thinking is correct then I think I'm starting to understand how this whole crime went. What's left is the who"

"Then say it! Is Romi-san the culprit?" Kobayashi demanded the important answer, but Mitsuhiko shut him up before continuing.

"Grab onto your seats because this will be great: there were two murders last night!"

"Two murders?" Kishio quickly looked around "But we're all here"

"Oh, you would never notice the other murder. I didn't realize it until just a few minutes ago, although I should have suspected it since the beginning"

"Why when a question is asked you always have to go to another point before giving a straight answer?" Hosoya didn't seem amused. Mitsuhiko ignored him, finally taking the first step towards solving the crime.

"This is the second victim of last night!"

* * *

Monobear File #2

Tuxedo

Colorful Hat

Hat Stand

Rubber Containers

Broken Lock

Broken Bottles

Broken Cabinet Lock

Mitsuhiko's Gun and Bullet

Missing Medicine

Koshimizu's ID

Entrance Records

List of Authorized Commanders

Takayama's Glasses

Takayama's Clothes

Mannequin

Rope

Toolbox

Towel

Wet Kitchen Knife

Bloody Kitchen Knife

* * *

**Mannequin**

* * *

"...okay, I don't have the second victim with me right now, but the point is that there's a mannequin in the Electronics Workshop. That's the second victim" Mitsuhiko shrugged nervously, maybe he went too far in the dramatic effect.

"A...mannequin? We're not in a trial to find a mannequin's killer"

"But I have no doubts this mannequin is in some way closely related to the murder, mainly because if it had been alive its cause of death would have been identical to Takayama's wound: a slit neck!"

"Somebody cut the mannequin's neck?" Koshimizu seemed particularly interested in the recent developments.

"Exactly. My theory is that Romi-san is the "killer" of that mannequin" Mitsuhiko looked at Romi, who seemed like she was having an epiphany "The culprit took advantage of Romi's attack to that mannequin and used that to continue their evil plan"

"Wait, was the mannequin dressed with Takayama-kun's clothes or something? That way she could think it was him!" Mitsuishi realized, but much to his disappointment Mitsuhiko shook his head.

"I don't think so. I bet it was dressed with _a tuxedo_. Yurie found a tuxedo identical to the one Takayama-kun was wearing. If the victim and the mannequin were side to side together I'm sure she'd see them as identical!"

"How tall was that mannequin?" Yurie asked.

"I think it's like a feet shorter than Takayama-kun, but I doubt Romi-san would notice it. Anything to say, Romi-san?"

"Uuuuh..." Romi was really hesitant about talking "Okay, I'll admit that...I did get involved in something last night"

"Did you kill Takayama-kun?"

"I thought I had, but...now I'm not sure. Heck, I didn't even know until this morning it was Takayama-kun! I just attacked the person in the black clothes"

"Why don't you say what you, um, saw" Hosoya encouraged, focusing on what she was going to say.

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

Toolbox / Rubber Containers / Mitsuhiko's Gun and Bullet / Hat Stand / Missing Medicine

* * *

ROMI: I don't know when I was gassed.

ROMI: All I know is that I awoke woozy on a chair

ROMI: I was in **the Electronics Workshop**

SUGITA: The culprit used **Takayama-kun's ID** to enter there

ROMI: **I was tied to the chair with a rope**

ROMI: The person I saw was moving around

ROMI: It had a colorful thing where the head would be located

KOBAYASHI: It must have been **the hat**

ROMI: The rope wasn't well tied so I managed to break free

ROMI: The person got scared and dropped a knife...

ROMI: And I was so mad...

ROMI: I took the knife and **chased the person**

ROMI: I didn't see them run but **I heard a noise** in the Theater Workshop

ROMI: When I entered...the person!

ROMI: Just standing there!

ROMI: I grabbed them and...used the knife **on the neck**...

ROMI: All that blood...everything was full of blood!

MIMORI: No wonder she didn't want to say anything

MIMORI: That made her think she was the culprit

ROMI: But what about the blood? **A mannequin doesn't bleed**!

* * *

"A mannequin doesn't bleed unless it's made it to bleed, you know" Mitsuhiko said cryptically.

"I saw the mannequin, Mitsu-chan. It's just plastic and cloth, no liquids at all" Yurie said, but the hunter didn't let that break his reasoning.

"It's true; the mannequin didn't have any blood. You yourself saw the explanation for the blood, Yurie. Did you pick one up?"

"I took this from the crime scene..." Yurie put a piece of rubber on the table "This is what you're talking about"

"Funny, this color is similar to Takayam-kun's skin" Kishio said, picking it up and turning it around "What's this red thing?"

"It's the blood Romi-san saw, more concretely strawberry jam. The culprit filled something rubbery with jam, put it on the mannequin's neck and let Romi-san cut it with the knife. Seeing blood convinced Romi- san she was the culprit and therefore wouldn't say anything"

"So the reason the culprit made all this was to...to make Romi-san believe that. That was it?" Kishio prompted Mitsuhiko, putting back the jam container on the table.

"I suppose so. After Romi-san left I'm sure the culprit took the unconscious Takayama-kun, put on the tuxedo on him and cut his throat in the same way Romi-san had done it to the mannequin"

"That must be what happened!" Romi shouted "Only the culprit would have known how I killed the mannequin. By the way, where was Takayama-kun while I was being deceived?"

"I think Takayama-kun's unconscious body was in..."

* * *

_The Electronics Workshop_

_The Theater Workshop_

_The Carpentry Workshop_

_The Lounge_

* * *

**_The Electronics Workshop_ **

* * *

"...in the Electronics Workshop, in the closet found there to be more precise. That's where his clothes and glasses were found, and since Romi-san ran away in pursuit of the culprit she wouldn't think of checking anything there"

"Continue with the tale, Romi-san. What happened after you killed the mannequin?" Mitsuishi requested. After taking a deep breath the Lyricist continued the story of what had happened the night before.

* * *

Nonstop Debate

* * *

Bloody Kitchen Knife / Broken Cabinet Lock / Towel / Koshimizu's ID / Takayama's Clothes

* * *

ROMI: After I killed Takayama-kun I was so scared...

ROMI: But I knew I had to disguise my crime

ROMI: I took the body and **hid it in the cabinet**

EMIKO: The culprit saw that, because that's where it was found

ROMI: I immediately went for **a towel to clean up the blood**

ROMI: I thought that'd make the body be found much later

KOSHIMIZU: You didn't notice anything weird about the blood, right?

ROMI: I didn't taste the blood if that's what you're insinuating

ROMI: I took the bloodied knife and **washed it**

ROMI: I also tried my best to **wash the towel** , but it was too late

ROMI: Everybody was bound to wake up soon

ROMI: So I **returned to my bedroom**

HIKARI: Did you see the anesthetic bottle?

ROMI: I did, but I knew it could be proof

ROMI: So **I didn't touch it**

ROMI: That's all I have to say

* * *

"There's something that doesn't fit here" Mitsuhiko said "Are you sure you washed the knife?"

"I'm sure I did, as well as the towel" Romi replied. Her expression showed she really was completely sure about that.

"But I was told you found a bloody knife in Camp Lily" the hunter pointed. Romi stopped talking for a moment, thinking about finding that knife.

"It's true, I did. In that moment I wasn't thinking right, I was going to wash it but I got caught with it. Luckily it was after Takayama-kun was found so I was able to pretend I had found evidence. But why was the knife dirty again?"

"Because it isn't the same one you washed" Mitsuhiko replied "Mitsuishi-kun found a wet knife in the kitchen, surely the one you had. The bloody knife you found was left by the culprit"

"So two different knifes were used last night?" Sasuga inquired.

"I suppose that's right. Nobody would distinguish what knife killed Takayama-kun, the wound doesn't tell us anything"

"The culprit thought of everything" Mitsuishi mused "The duplicate clothes, the places, Romi-san's blindness...everything was carefully planned"

"I think the only part the mole had on all this was the making of the chemicals in the bottles. Everything else was done by the culprit"

"Don't you remember anything else?" he asked to Romi. The Lyricist grimaced as if she remembered something disgusting.

"W-Well I didn't mention it because it's..." fighting the nausea she said it "Shortly before I managed to untie myself that horrible person took me head in their hands and...and kissed me in the lips. That was so humiliating..."

_...eh? What did she say?_

"I can't believe I fell in the culprit's trap and allowed all this to happen. How could I..." Romi had finally sat down, pretty downcast. Sugita, who was near to her, patted her back to show her support.

"It's not really your fault. You were conned into following the culprit's plan, don't blame yourself"

_Wait a second..._ Mitsuhiko had finally realized who the culprit was and how to prove it: with the potential significance of a single piece of evidence. It didn't show the guilt of the culprit, but it was the only object linking the real culprit to the crime in the first place. And even them, it wasn't even a direct linking. "Guys, to confirm: who is still suspected?"

"You're turning out to be the prime suspect" Kobayashi said "But I think your behavior in this trial shows you're likely to be innocent. You cleared the name of two different suspects, if you were the culprit you would have left us to die"

"It's not the best proof of my innocence but I'm willing to accept it. Romi-san can't be the culprit, it doesn't fully fit"

"Koshimizu-san wouldn't have done such a mistake as leaving his ID in the victim's pocket" Mitsuishi declared.

"Those three were our best suspects and we have marked them as innocent for flimsy reasons" Kobayashi sighed "Have we missed something?"

"Let's suppose neither of us three is a viable suspect" Mitsuhiko suggested, he wanted to see if they suspected the person he thought was the culprit "Who else is innocent?"

"Hosoya-kun and I were in our cells, we can't have done it" Yurie said.

"Those were all our suspects. Let's take a look at the rest" Fukuyama said.

"Kishio-sensei, Kobayashi-kun and me found the dead body and triggered the announcement, that means we're completely cleared" Sasuga declared.

"The only way any of those three could be the culprit was of Romi-san saw the dead body, but I think it's clear she didn't" Mitsuhiko supported that, but he wasn't happy with where they were going. They were straying far from his reasoning. If it didn't turn to the direction he wanted he'd have to go straight to the point.

"So the commanders left are...Tanaka-san, Mimori-san, Sugita-san, Fukuyama-kun and Mitsuishi-kun. Nothing we found link any of them with the crime scene"

"Okay, that was enough" Mitsuhiko said forcefully, getting everybody's attention. "Guys, we're going too far. I have a new suspect and I'm almost sure it's right" _Or at least I hope so, because the only other possibility would be..._ "I have a piece of evidence that'll link that person with what happened last night. It's this!"

* * *

Monobear File #2

Tuxedo

Colorful Hat

Hat Stand

Rubber Containers

Broken Lock

Broken Bottles

Broken Cabinet Lock

Mitsuhiko's Gun and Bullet

Missing Medicine

Koshimizu's ID

Entrance Records

List of Authorized Commanders

Takayama's Glasses

Takayama's Clothes

Mannequin

Rope

Toolbox

Towel

Wet Kitchen Knife

Bloody Kitchen Knife

* * *

**Broken Lock**

* * *

"I'm talking about the lock of my cell! The one that was broken"

"We may as well try to find out now why it didn't appear in the recording" Koshimizu suggested, but Mitsuhiko shouted 'No!'.

"There's nothing to find out! I have solved that part of the mystery. I should have guessed before...look, do you all see this?" Mitsuhiko showed the cut in his hand "I cut my hand on the wood of the door two days ago and I bled over the handle of my side of the door. I tried to clean it but I wasn't able to, but this morning I noticed the blood was gone! The handle was completely clean!"

"Ar-A-a-Are you sure of that?" Hosoya stuttered. His eyes were widening, much to Mitsuhiko's joy.

"Yes! There's only one explanation for that:"

* * *

Somebody cleaned the handle

Somebody exchanged the lock

Somebody got rid of the handle

Somebody moved me to another cell

* * *

**Somebody exchanged the lock**

* * *

"The lock, handle included, was changed with an identical lock and there's only one place a lock like that could be obtained: another cell!"

"Wait, the sound that was heard in the recording..." Koshimizu tried to replay it but Mitsuhiko didn't wait for that.

"It was the sound of the culprit _dismantling_ the lock! There was this screwdriver that was used a lot. That's how the blood was gone; the culprit inadvertently moved my lock to their cell. Surely the mole destroyed the lock of the culprit's cell to get them out"

"But no recording showed that" Fukuyama pointed

"Doesn't matter! I can prove I'm right. Koshimizu-san, do you have the keys of the cells?"

"I have them right here" Koshimizu replied, holding them in the air. There was nothing differentiating them from one another "So according to you either Hosoya-kun or Oyama-san is the culprit"

"Then let's go. Come on, run!" Mitsuhiko stood up, his chair falling to the floor, and ran to the door.

"Wait a second; I haven't authorized anybody to leave!" Monober protested but nobody paid attention to him, as everybody left the Meeting Room to follow Mitsuhiko and Koshimizu. Speechless, Monobear had no more option than following them with Lily.

"You're not as much of a threat if you can't keep order" Lily commented but Monobear didn't reply. The girl wasn't sure if it had been good that the commanders hadn't even considered Monobear's presence. If the people in control of Monobear decided it was gross insubordination chances were a big punishment could await everybody, albeit not lethal. She hoped they wouldn't consider that.

Everybody had gathered in the hallway of the cells, Mitsuhiko looking at two possibilities. It ws as if he was afraid of revealing something very ugly, which was no surprise. His fianceé had possibilities of being the culprit. Finally he made his decision, pointing at the cell just to the side of his, Hosoya's. "Open it. Let's get this over with" Koshimizu obeyed, opening the door of the cell. Mitsuhiko, trying to keep his nervousness at bay, entered with the doctor and looked at the handle.

The relief he felt in that moment was indescribable.

"It was true, Romi-san. You did get _conned_ into a murder plan created to make you think you had done it" the hunter said with great pleasure.

"There's blood on the handle and I don't see any microphones here on the door" Koshimizu had finished examining the door "That explains why the breaking of the lock wasn't recorded"

"Then the culprit is..." Kishio grabbed the culprit by the vest, stopping him from going away.

"Yes, Akira Hosoya is the culprit" the hunter declared.


	15. Chapter 2: Locked - Trial VI

Kishio threw Hosoya into the center of the cell, the con artist falling on his back. Nobody took pity on him, for all they cared he may as well be hanged from the roof of the headquarters. "It was you. You killed him and drugged all of them!" Emiko said, astonished.

"N-No! I couldn't have done it; I was here in my cell all the time!" Hosoya screamed, standing up. He was surrounded by everybody glaring at him; he knew that if they could they would lynch him right in that moment.

"You broke the lock and then changed it for Hikari-kun's lock. You could get out if you did that" Romi sentenced, satisfied with that reasoning at least until she thought of another possibility "Actually, I think the mole was the one to break the lock. Hosoya-kun didn't have any blunt objects inside his cell. The mole moved the microphones too, and that's all that person did"

"Nothing hints the mole's identity, though. At least we got Hosoya-kun" Yurie looked at the accused commander with disgust.

"No, wait, how can you say that? All you have is a lock!" Hosoya protested, starting to get furious.

"The lock of your cell" Mitsuhiko added calmly, which made Hosoya turn to face him. Mitsuhiko felt absolutely no sympathy towards him, all he wanted was to crush the con artist and end the trial.

**STOP ACCUSING ME**

"Look, mine is not the only cell in this hallway. How do you know it isn't Oyama-san's?"

"Because the blood is in your cell, not hers"

"That's...okay, look, that's not enough! Wouldn't you have noticed something was going on? It was the fucking lock of your cell! Do you know how hard it'd be to change it without you noticing? Come on!" He's grasping at straws so much he's forgetting about the most basic details. Let me end this!

* * *

**Rebuttal Showdown**

* * *

_Takayama's Glasses / Rope / Rubber Containers / List of Authorized Commanders / Broken Bottles_

* * *

HOSOYA: Your lock wasn't destroyed in the door

HOSOYA: But dismantling it is noisy enough too!

HOSOYA: And even if it isn't you'd notice it

HOSOYA: You were just asleep!

HOSOYA: Don't you have light sleep?

MITSUHIKO: Did you forget what you planned?

MITSUHIKO: You should feel ashamed

HOSOYA: Bluffing, that's what you're doing!

HOSOYA: What did I do, then?

HOSOYA: **I couldn't stop you from waking up**!

HOSOYA: Especially not without...

HOSOYA: ...getting out of my cell in the first place!

* * *

"Two words" Mitsuhiko lifted his fingers "Broken bottle. As easy as that. You used the anesthetics, remember?"

"The...bottles?" Hosoya looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Of course, the bottles. If I was knocked out then you'd be able to do anything to my lock without worrying about me noticing. It's simple, isn't it?"

"But I can't have been the one who killed Takayama-kun! Why would I?"

"Your motive doesn't matter! For all you know you resented Takayama-kun for placing microphones on your door, I don't care. What matters is that you were the one to slit his throat"

Hosoya walked from one side to another of the cell, looking as if he were about to have a breakdown. They weren't going to return to the Meeting Room to finish the trial; they were going to end and vote right there. Mitsuhiko, knowing Hosoya was practically cornered, relaxed against the wall.

"But it's just a lock! You can't think I killed him just for that, right?"

"We'll need to hang onto anything we can...or risk death" Sugita sentenced "Romi-san, Koshimizu-kun and Hikari-kun were proven potentially innocent already, and Oyama-san couldn't have escaped her cell. You're the only option left who has been linked in some way to the murder"

"It could have been anybody else! There are five commanders left, why not any of them?"

"Nobody else has been proven to have anything to do with the crime. It's over" Koshimizu replied, cleaning the dry blood from the lock but the stains continued to exist, "I have no idea how you missed the blood. It isn't exactly subtle"

"I don't think it's there because he had missed it. He had already torn off the lock from my cell and Oyama-san wasn't gassed at any point. He couldn't take her lock and as you can see now it's hard to clean it if you don't have any water or something" Mitsuhiko pointed "Now let's end this, okay?"

* * *

**Climax Inference**

* * *

_First you must understand there were two people involved in this murder: the culprit and an accomplice, who is somebody working for Monobear. They somehow made contact despite the culprit being locked in a cell and started their plan to commit murder._

_The mole made the necessary preparations for the crime. First they took off the microphones from the culprit's cell's door, leaving it unwatched by Takayama. Then the accomplice, using the benefits of working with Monobear, got a gun and shot the Infirmary cabinet, stealing sleeping piles that would serve as an important point of the plan. These pills were processed in a third floor laboratory and used to fill four bottles._

_One of those was for Mitsuhiko, so the culprit could steal the lock of his cell. One was for Koshimizu, so the culprit could steal his ID. One was for Takayama, who would be the victim. And finally, one was for Romi, who would serve as the scapegoat for the crime. After everybody was gassed the accomplice went to the culprit's cell and forcibly destroyed the lock, leaving him free._

_It's possible the culprit and the mole carried Takayama's unconscious body together, and used the victim's ID to enter the Electronics Workshop, hiding him into the cupboard. The culprit also changed his clothes, wearing one of the tuxedos from the Theater Workshop as well as a hat._

_The mole and the culprit then carried Romi to the Electronics Workshop, placing her on a chair and tying her loosely with a rope, making sure she'd be able to escape easily. Afterwards everything done was done by the culprit without anybody else's help._

_Romi awoke thanks to the comparative minor amount of anesthetic she received and started to struggle, also receiving a kiss from the culprit, perhaps in an effort to enrage her. It worked and Romi set herself free. Feigning surprise the culprit let a knife fall onto the floor and in the time she took to pick up the knife he hid somewhere and attracted her to the Theater Workshop, possibly using the hat stand to create a noise in there._

_Romi fell in the trap and went into the Theater Workshop where she saw the mannequin dressed with a tuxedo identical to the one the culprit used, and furious she did what the culprit had planned: she "killed" the mannequin. It's possible he had covered the mannequin's plastic with rubber capsules filled with jam, done to simulate blood. Once that was done she ran away, returned with a towel and cleaned hurriedly, stuffing the theater cabinet with the mannequin, leaving the place ready for the culprit to work after she ran away._

_The culprit waited until she was gone and changed Takayama's clothes, putting the tuxedo on him, and once that was done...he used another knife and killed Takayama in the exact way Romi had done and hid him in the same place._

_The crime was finished. The only thing that was left was leaving the bloody knife somewhere and change the broken lock, swapping it with the one from the cell prisoner that had been gassed, and that was when the crucial mistake was done. Doing that the culprit linked himself to the murder plot and brought his own doom._

_The accomplice's identity is unknown but that doesn't matter as long as we know who the culprit is, and that is you! Akira Hosoya, you're the author of this complicated plan!_

* * *

Hosoya was practically about to faint. Of all things he thought would happen he never really considered he could be caught. "Please...you can't let me die...I don't want to die..."

"You killed Takayama-kun and were going to leave the rest of us to be killed. Do you think anybody here is going to forgive your life?" Sasuga spat, making Hosoya cringe as if he had been slapped.

"It was a moment of panic! I didn't think..."

"A moment of panic?! This was a premeditated murder! Planned to the smallest detail! You'll be executed and I plan to enjoy it" Mitsuishi shouted, barely restraining himself from launching himself onto Hosoya.

"Enough of this idiocy. Monobear! We're going to vote now!" Fukuyama called to the bear, who was outside in the hall, grumbling to himself.

"It should be done in the Meeting Room"

"Does it really matter? It isn't like you have voting machines installed on the table or anything like that. We could vote in the courtyard shed for all we cared" Koshimizu commented, putting Monobear in even worse mood.

"Whatever. Vote now, then. One by one name the culprit"

As expected the votes were unanimous except for one. Hosoya was voted as the culprit by virtually everybody except himself. Hosoya, seeing it was hopeless to try to argue, practically let himself fall onto the floor on his knees. His plan had been destroyed even after the risk of having cooperated with Monobear.

Monobear wasn't exactly jumping around in joy. In half an hour everybody showed blatant disrespect towards him so he wasn't in mood to be dramatic and overbearingly cheerful. "You got it right, Hosoya-kun is the culprit, upupupu, etcetera. Everybody to the Meeting Room! Now!"

"Can't we go away? The trial is over" Mimori requested, but the sudden appearance of Monobear's claws was all the answer she needed "Alright, let's get going to the Meeting Room"

"It's to watch the execution, I suppose. That's where the screen is" Mitsuhiko commented, following them. Behind him everybody else walked as a group, some of them holding Hosoya to interrogate him.

"Okay, you got caught. Say who is the mole"

"Why should I? You lot voted for me, I shouldn't say anything"

"Did you ever think Monobear would let you not have to die if you got caught?" Emiko asked slowly, as if she were saying a very complicated concept. Hosoya rolled his eyes, more resigned than anything else.

"Of course not, I may be a bit dim but I'm not that dim"

"How did you contact the mole? The microphones didn't record anything" Mimori inquired, taking the role of interrogator. At least her journalism training would allow her to pinpoint important questions to interpret later.

"I had a pen with me, it was just matter of writing it somewhere and throwing it through the slot of the door when Monobear was near. That was enough"

"So you didn't ever see the mole?" Romi asked.

"I did! I'm not giving you a description, if that's what you're asking" Hosoya replied defiantly. Unfortunately for him that kind of answer wasn't what Mimori was looking for. Taking him into a headlock she exerted pressure on his neck, making sure she didn't break her neck and end being guilty for his death. Choking, Hosoya raised his hands, trying to get out. "Okay, okay! I'm telling!" he managed to say before Mimori loosened the headlock enough for him to breath comfortably.

"We're listening. Who is the mole?" the journalist asked, ready to attack again if he was uncooperative. Hosoya swallowed nervously.

"I don't know. Wait wait!" he screeched when Mimori started tightening the headlock again "I really don't know! He had a mask! I couldn't see his face!"

"What kind of mask?" Sasuga asked from the rear, having heard that.

"A Monobear mask. I never saw his face, not even his hair" Hosoya described. Everybody turned to look at Fukuyama, the only person in the building they had seen with a mask like that.

"Hey, it isn't me! These masks are mass-produced you know!"

"I think that what he said makes Fukuyama be innocent" Romi said "Otherwise he would have known it was Fukuyama-kun"

"I only knew the mole was male because of the voice. It could even have been a woman" Hosoya added.

"Hosoya-kun, I order you to not to say a word more" Monobear interrupted the questions. If he weren't a being made a plush and metal it was likely everybody would see veins pulsing on his forehead. Hosoya nodded meekly, not having anything else to say.

Everybody arrived at the entrance of the Meeting Room, Lily leading the way. "Get in, bastards, and don't dare to step out for the next minutes. Otherwise Hosoya-kun won't be the only one executed today," he practically growled, grabbing Hosoya's wrist. The con artist stayed perfectly still, afraid the bear would snap and disembowel him right in front of everyone.

Once everybody was in their place Monobear closed the door from the outside. There was nothing left to do other than waiting for the transmission of the execution, and when the screen started to appear Mitsuhiko braced himself for the ugly spectacle.

* * *

**The Ol' Switcheroo**

_Hosoya was standing against the wall, shackled to the wall by one large chain crossing his body. He was trying to pry it away from his body, but it was useless. When the camera panned around everybody recognized where he was: it was the Camp Lily hallway and he was shackled on the far point, the one towards the Lounge._

_On the other side there was a sudden sound, a truck horn. Rounding the corner from the path to the Basement a small truck appeared with Monobear at the wheel. Making the horn sound several times the bear aligned the front of the truck with Hosoya, aiming. The con artist, knowing what was likely to happen, started struggling harder._

_The tires screeched and the truck started going forward. The hall was relatively long so it was possible for the truck to gain speed, and soon it was being driven at a considerable speed towards Hosoya, who seemed to lose all energy when the truck got near. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see the headlights of the truck approaching._

_Impact happened._

_The truck collided to Hosoya with a comical BOING noise, revealing it was no more than an inflated husk made of rubber, somehow having a motor and wheels. Hosoya stared for a moment and laughed nervously, pushing the truck away easily. Monobear at the wheel wasn't frustrated, though. Instead he raised his paw and showed he had a control with only one button. "Psyche!" he hollered before pressing the button._

_Three spikes emerged from the wall, piercing Hosoya in the back and skewering him through the chest. The con artist gasped for breath, spitting blood, not fully believing what had happened. The shock didn't last more than a few seconds; he lowered his head and didn't move anymore._

* * *

The commanders watched the transmission in disbelief. What the hell had happened? Did Monobear drive an inflatable truck through Camp Lily? Hosoya was killed by spikes that nobody had idea even existed?

"But there wasn't any noise from the truck…" Mitsuhiko noted, trying to think the right words to say.

"Camp Lily isn't directly over our heads, it's natural we didn't hear anything. The ceiling wouldn't even vibrate" Sasuga pointed, standing up.

"And it was a fake truck, that wouldn't make a ruckus" Mimori added, imitating Sasuga. Slowly the commanders got ready to get out, but before they got out of the door they were stopped by the Hacking Demon.

"Wait a moment. Koshimizu-san, are we free? Mitsu-chan and I…are we free?"

Realizing what she meant everybody paid attention to Koshimizu who seemed thoughtful. The hunter, having forgotten he was still a prisoner, held his breath and waited for the verdict.

The Medical Demon said it. "You're free. Compared to Hosoya-kun you two are saints. As long as you don't attempt to kill anybody you won't be thrown into the cells again"

"About time!" Mitsuhiko exclaimed, feeling happy "I never realized how horrible being bored was!"

"Let that be a lesson to you. Don't shoot anybody, okay?" And Koshimizu took out the gun from his pocket. Mitsuhiko took the Twin M9 Beretta, a bit more confident now that he had a gun. Sasuga approached and gave him the gun he had at the beginning, improving Mitsuhiko's mood even more.

"I won't. I don't have any interest on getting into the Main Board" the hunter informed, which got positive reactions except from one person. Yurie seemed pretty annoyed, and getting close to Mitsuhiko she whispered:

"Meet me tomorrow morning. We need to talk"

_That doesn't sound any good_ But he didn't say no, so the meeting was settled.

Everybody left the Meeting Room, talking about what they should do now. "I want to examine the wall where Hosoya-kun died" Kishio said, eliciting disgust noises from some.

"Monobear hasn't even got time to clean the blood! That's nasty" Mitsuhiko said, profoundly grossed out. He wasn't a stranger to blood but he didn't want to see the scene of such a gruesome death.

"Is the hunter squeamish about blood? I would have never thought it!" Mimori said mockingly but Mitsuhiko didn't react to it.

"I'm going straight to my bedroom. There's nothing else I want to do other than sleeping in a place comfier than the floor. Well, that and using a toilet again. I had never realized how I had taken a toilet as a given"

"Wasn't the bedpan enough?" Koshimizu inquired with a serious tone.

"No it wasn't, you asshole" the hunter muttered and went to his bedroom, waving at everybody without looking back. He went to his bedroom, not wanting to get out of there for a while. It was good to be free but in his opinion after two horrible days resting was more important.

_Finally a good time to rest._

-ooooo-

"Useless"

"Easily deceived"

"Stupid"

"Ineffective"

"The worst accomplice we could have found"

The Main Board wasn't exactly happy. They had seen a great chance with Hosoya. The guy was locked in a cell, how would anybody suspect him? But somehow the commanders had managed to catch him and neither Accomplice did anything to stop it.

But they blamed the First Accomplice more. After all they were the one who collaborated with Hosoya, they should have made an effort to stop the trial from ending like that. "Hosoya-kun would have been a perfect replacement for Volkos. If it hadn't been for that lock..." Valkyrie put her head against the table, her newly dyed hair spreading all around her. She had gotten her hands onto a strawberry blond tone that, although not the exact color she had been looking for, was good enough.

The Enoshima in her head had judged it that way.

"They're not useful anymore, we should convince them to take a bigger step. Agreed?" Wolfenmaus suggested.

"Only the First one. The Second at least has potential to be useful"

In that moment the two Accomplices entered the room. It was time for their reunion, and just as usual this wasn't going to be fun times. "I-I'm sorry, I don't know what went wrong!" the First Accomplice apologized immediately, bowing until they almost touched the floor.

"I wish there was a spear trap installed in here. We should give that a try!" Valkyrie commented but was ignored by the others.

"Don't worry, you'll get another chance! You failed miserably in trying to be a help for the culprit, but there's a chance for you to fix that. Take the chance, don't think it twice!" Vieiras said haughtily with an expression normally never seen in their face.

"Thank you, thank you so much!" the First Accomplice straightened, their face very grateful for the second chance. The Second Accomplice wasn't exactly happy, though. They blinked a couple times, processing everything and asked:

"There a catch, isn't there?"

"A catch? Why would we hide a catch in our merciful proposal?" Valkyrie said almost sardonically, grinning.

"I can see that little voice in your head is starting to finally overtake everything in you and if the rumors are right...Enoshima wasn't exactly somebody who did something without benefiting herself in some way. So what's the catch?"

The three members of the Main Board laughed, they had been busted! "How smart of you! It's not a catch; it's just a change of method" Wolfenmaus grabbed the First Accomplice's arm, pulling them towards him "Listen, you won't be a mere help for the culprit now. There's a change of plans"

"A change of plans, got it. What is it?" the First Accomplice didn't notice the strange smiles their bosses had. Valkyrie, spreading her arms wide, made the proclamation they had waited to do for quite a while already:

"Now you won't be a mere accomplice. We want you to be _the next culprit_!"

-ooooo-

At some point Mitsuhiko awoke, feeling hungry. After picking up dinner he returned to his bedroom. He wasn't feeling tired for now, but he wasn't in mood either of being with people, especially with Yurie. Apparently his statement about not wanting to kill anybody hadn't striked her well.

The situation he was in was...not good, to say the least. In times like this he couldn't avoid looking into the past and remembering how he had gotten in this point of his life where he was in mortal danger of being killed or executed.

If I had lived different I wouldn't be here. The fact I know where I exactly went wrong...makes it worse, right?

Mitsuhiko once again tuckered himself into his sleeping bag, staring at the ceiling. Just like it had happened after the first trial he remembered the name he used to have, Hikaru Mitsuhide. But now he was remembering more than that.

...his time in Hope's Peak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is 2.5: a short Intermission about the past. Just notifying!


	16. Intermission: Downwards Spiral I

Hikaru Mitsuhide aimed with the shotgun at the target displayed at the other side of the room. He had a lot of cables and sensors wrapped around his head, measuring everything that could happen in his head, but that wasn't enough for the Hope's Peak scientists. They also had tied a blindfold over one of his eyes and instructed him to shoot with a specific weapon at a round target on the other side of the room, a dozen feet away. Hikaru had tried to tell them that a shotgun wasn't the best gun to use for such a distance but they had insisted it was necessary to use it.

And so he did. All targets were destroyed without fail. The ammo shot hit each target without anybody in the room even flinching. The results were impressive, just as expected from the Super High School Level Hunter. Having finished, Hikaru practically threw the shotgun on a table, fed up with the scientists' work on him. "Are we done? I'm almost falling asleep here"

"We're done, Mitsuhide-san" one of the scientists respectfully said, taking a series of data from a nearby computer "You may leave. Please return in two days for a new series of tests"

Resigned, Hikaru nodded and hurriedly left the testing room. Hope's Peak was known for being the school where the best of the best studied, but all students could sense there was something else going on behind scenes. Nobody knew for sure what it was; the number of students who knew could be counted in one hand. But Hikaru couldn't care less about what was going on, all he wanted was to go away from Hope's Peak and its scientists. He had no idea why all that data was needed and he was sure he didn't want to ever know.

"I need a breather" Hikaru murmured to nobody in particular, looking at the clock. It was almost 11:00 PM, way too late to go outside, or at least it'd be too late if he went through the front door. His class had found a way to get out of the school grounds without anybody finding out and he had been using it intermittently every once in a while, when everything in Hope's Peak got overwhelming.

Unfortunately the boxes that were usually found near the point of the fence were located further away than expected, in an area where somebody could notice what was going on. Feeling frustrated from seeing his escape route interrupted. When he was about to stomp away to his bedroom he heard steps. The hunter hid behind a corner, trying to see who was coming. Once he saw who it was he let out a sigh of relief. "Ogata-san! Over here!"

It was Akane Ogata, one of his classmates. She was the Super High School Level Chemist, but despite being in the same class they didn't really mingle very much. From what he had heard Ogata thought he was crass and an unlikable person and he didn't have many kind things to say about her either. However right now he was happy to see her. She apparently was coming from one of the testing rooms as well.

The chemist turned her head to where Hikaru was, raising her eyebrows in surprise. "Mitsuhide-kun? What are you doing there?"

"I feel fucking stressed, that's what's going on. Some idiot moved the boxes and I want to get out. Could you please stand here and give me a hand?" The idea was to use Ogata as a boost to reach the top of the fence, that was a simple plan that could work. Ogata wasn't enthused, though.

"You shouldn't get out so late"

"If I need your opinion I'll fucking ask for it, okay?" he spat and realized that being confrontational with the person you wanted to help you wasn't a good idea. Raising his hands trying to calm himself down he breathed deeply. "Look, I'm sorry. It's that I'm stressed, the tests today were a nightmare"

Ogata, who until that point seemed pretty distrustful of him, relaxed visibly. "I know what you mean. Those guys have been busy lately and I can't even guess what they're doing!"

"I had to compare animal tracks and droppings for four hours! It was piece of cake, I'm great at tracking, but looking at animal shit for hours isn't my idea of a nice afternoon. And after that..."

"Sounds annoying" Ogata allowed herself to smile "Okay, I'll help you. You owe me a favor, okay?"

Hikaru was grateful for Ogata's cooperation "Thank you so much. I owe you one"

"We all need a rest every once in a while. Pay me by not getting caught or we'll both be in serious trouble" Ogata stood to the side of the point of the fence where they normally escaped through and prepared her hands to help Hikaru pass over it. The hunter, using the agility developed in his hunting expeditions, grabbed the top of the fence and passed with ease.

"Return to your bedroom! I can enter back by myself" Entering the terrains of the school was much easier than getting out. Ogata didn't reply, she went away before Hikaru said that. After stretching and getting used to the cold air he walked to the sidewalk. There was one place he often went when he escaped like this.

Hope's Peak wasn't a prison. The students were allowed to get out at any time, and the reason why there were bedrooms was mostly so the scientists had easy access to their test subjects. When there were no tests or studies scheduled the students had the option to spend some days in their homes, and this kind of decisions was always done following friendships among classmates. Hikaru liked Hope's Peak more than home, so he spent most of his days in there.

But just like any other place there was a time when going out wasn't allowed anymore without authorization, usually after sunset. And when Hikaru escaped the school after the closing of the gates he tended to go to one place.

Kimiko Sugita's home wasn't far from Hope's Peak. Hikaru knew it was late in the night and the chances of she being awake were low but that didn't stop him. Much to his relief the window of Sugita's bedroom were on, she was still awake! The hunter went to the window and knocked, he couldn't see the inside of the room due to the curtains. Sugita valued her privacy and this secret knock was something they agreed. Sugita opened the window and allowed him in, as if he were her boyfriend sneaking for a visit late at night.

Sugita and Hikaru were childhood friends but although Hikaru admitted Sugita was a very attractive girl he wasn't really interested in her. "I was afraid you'd be asleep by now" Hikaru said, letting himself fall on her bed while she returned to her desk.

"Delacroix continues bombarding us with homework. You wouldn't believe everything I have to do for the next week" Sugita replied. Delacroix School for the Gifted and the Talented, despite their tacky name, was actually a _very good_ school. Not as famous as Hope's Peak, but was regarded well by its quality teaching.

"I'd prefer piles of homework than what we do in Hope's Peak. Sometimes I regret being so good at hunting"

"Don't be like that!" Sugita left a notebook aside, having finished an essay "We both have talents and we must take advantage of them. Let's not reject our privileges!"

"It'd all be easier if you were in Hope's Peak with me. Many of my classmates are a pain on the ass"

"They can't be that bad. Besides Hope's Peak already said I'm not good enough for them and my parents don't have enough money for me to be in the Reserve Classes"

"You may be lucky they didn't take you in. Seriously..."

"Why don't you transfer into Delacroix?" Sugita asked, turning around. Hikaru sat, thoughtful.

"My parents insist I should finish my school days in Hope's Peak, but it's three years! I don't know if I can resist it"

"Maybe it's worth it, I don't know. No idea if people would be impressed with a SHSL Hunter" Sugita shrugged, she had commented in the past her talent was pretty niche, just like Hikari's. There wasn't that much of a need for tea ceremonies in the modern world.

"Once I graduate I'm getting out of this city, I promise that" Hikaru declared. Sugita nodded, a bit distracted by her own homework.

"You should relax a bit. Hang out with me! My friends and I are going to a picnic in a few days. Join us! I'll bring my special tea set"

"Your friends are okay, I suppose, but I get tired of them after a while"

"There's a new girl in the school, she transferred there a few days ago. This is like a welcome party for her"

"Really?" Hikaru felt his interest piqued. Maybe he needed to widen his social circle.

"Yes, she's a hacker, that's what I have heard! Her name is Yurie Oyama and she's of our age. She reminds me of you in some ways" Sugita smiled slyly, Hikaru soon following her mood.

"Is that an insult for her?"

They laughed happily, planning the meeting in the picnic. He took part of it and met Yurie. Just like Sugita had said, she was similar to him in terms of personality, blunt and direct. And because she was blunt and direct something was clear during that day:

Yurie was attracted to him.

Since that day Yurie turned into a confidant to him. The three of them reunited several times, but after a while Yurie expressed jealousy about Sugita wanting to couple with Hikaru. Despite his reassurances it wouldn't happen soon Yurie and Sugita distanced each other until Hikaru only reunited with one of them at the time.

Hikaru told her everything. He told her about the scientists' work on him, their experiments and tests. He told her about his classmates. He told her about the small amount of homework he received. Yurie also trusted Hikaru with a lot of things. She expressed her frustration at the lack of recognition she had when she said she was from Delacroix. She hatefully talked about her classmates. She expressed several times she wanted to run away from the city but was also determined to graduate.

Overall they shared their thoughts and formed a friendship that, ten months later, turned into a romantic relationship. That time also was a rough time between Hikaru and his parents, and he told her that. He said he hated them and wanted nothing else than getting away of them. "Dealing with Hope's Peak and with them at the same time is a nightmare. Why does this happen to me?" he used to shout to nobody in particular when they reunited.

A week after such declarations Hikaru's parents were found dead, a bladed weapon having skewered their chests. Their murderer was never found, although at some point an agent revealed that they suspected the crime weapon had been a katana.

Hikaru was the main suspect for quite a while. After all he's a hunter and had access to lots of weapons, both guns and blades. It took a lot of time for the police to accept he was innocent, and indeed he was!

He had fallen into the reckless behavior of proclaiming he hated his parents when he was angry. He didn't really hate them. He actually loved them, but despite that he kept his emotions in check, not showing any grief. Maybe that's part of what made the police suspect him, he never knew for sure.

Sugita's family was kind enough to see that Hikaru was innocent and were compassionate enough to offer him a home. Sugita spend a long time with him for weeks while everything was set up. Hikaru was very grateful with Sugita's parents for welcoming him into home, but he never really accepted them as new parents. They were just his hosts and therefore had no control over him.

He also met with Yurie quite often. The hacker expressed her condolences although she had never really known his parents. "But who did it? Nobody I know could have...done this..." Hikaru said, astonished. He was with Yurie in her home, still grieving, but he still didn't cry. The most he did was trembling and gritting his teeth in despair, but he didn't break down.

"You never truly know people" Yurie replied "Besides people change. You could even change someday"

"Change how?" That wasn't a direction he had expected. For a moment he forgot how he felt, surprised by Yurie's words.

"You didn't kill them. I know you didn't, you wouldn't"

"Of course I wouldn't! I don't have the guts to kill anybody. There's a difference between animals and humans, I know that!"

Yurie nodded, taking his hand and leading him to a shelf in her living room, filled with books. While she was searching for something she continued as if it wasn't something completely inadequate. "Who knows, Mitsu-chan. Maybe in the future that mindset of yours could change. In my opinion there's not that much of a stretch between killing animals and people"

"I won't kill anybody in my entire life!" Hikaru declared but Yurie merely nodded, taking a thick book from the shelf.

"Whatever you say. Did you say the police said it could have been a katana?" While Hikaru nodded Yurie opened the book, taking out a newspaper clipping out and passing it to Hikaru. "It reminds me of this"

The clipping was from five years ago. Hikaru remembered some details of the murder case detailed there, after all it had been something that had been heavily broadcasted along the whole country due to the circumstances and the accused person. The murder had happened in Kyoto and the crime weapon had been a katana.

The person who was accused of having murdered the victim was a French woman of surname Delacroix. "Delacroix? Like the school?"

"Exactly like the school" Yurie said "The principal of my school is named Delacroix, just like this woman. I have good reasons to believe they're family in some way"

"This murder...it's like how my parents died. Do you think this Delacroix bitch killed them?"

"I don't _think_ she did. I _know_ she did" Yurie said. Hikaru almost let the clipping fall to the floor, shocked.

"What the...what do you mean?"

"I know this woman was in the city when your parents were killed, and I know that because...because I'm in contact with her. She's a friend of mine"

Hikari left the clipping aside and stepped aside, as if Yurie were somebody he was afraid of. "Yurie, tell me you didn't have anything to do with my parents' murder. You didn't do anything, right? Tell me!"

"I didn't. Mitsu-chan, I had no reason at all to kill them. Why the heck would I? I care about you, Mitsu-chan, I wouldn't hurt you like this!"

Hikaru wanted nothing more than believing her. She was his girlfriend, the person he loved; she wouldn't do something like conspiring in the death of his parents, right? Yurie sensed his doubts and grabbed him by the shoulders, and with a voice that sounded sincere and calming to Hikaru she spoke: "You're the most important person to me, Mitsu-chan. I wouldn't dream of hurting you. I want the best for you and never forget that.

I'll always protect you, no matter what happens. Never forget that".

-ooooo-

Funny how one's thoughts could jump around like that, going from Hope's Peak to a conversation about Delacroix. Veritas was actually Principal Delacroix, right? Mitsuhiko finally fell asleep shortly after reminiscing Yurie's words. He felt oddly comforted by them; he knew he could trust Yurie and that nothing would happen as long as they were together. They were a couple that was going to be married, having the upmost trust with each other. The hunter had believed Yurie that she had nothing to do with the death of his family. Calmed down knowing he had somebody to trust, he let himself drift into a dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hooray for bringing plot points and characters from Graduate Meeting! Because yeah, in this sequel several points are going to be cleared up, as you may imagine. I'm excited to write the answers to several questions left open in the first story!
> 
> Chapter 3 starts in the next update!


	17. Chapter 3: Trying to Exorcise Demons - (Ab)normal Days I

The feeling of awakening in the sleeping bag after having been forced to sleep on the floor for two nights was...amazingly cathartic. Mitsuhiko awoke feeling emotionless, so to speak. His mind was blank, he felt nothing specific and there was nothing to be felt for the moment.

But of course he couldn't stay the whole day in there. He had to get out and meet Yurie at some point during the morning. The hunter got out of his bedroom, finally starting to feel the dread of once another day in the headquarters. If everything went like the last week then there'd be a dead body in two or three days. Today was...a day to rest. It should be.

Was it bad he had no hopes of everybody being good and not killing each other?

When he arrived to the cafeteria he looked around. There weren't many changes except one: a lot of people were gathered around Mitsuishi, being very friendly with him. From what he could hear he was congratulated from stopping everybody of voting for Romi. Mitsuishi seemed like he was really enjoying the attention. It was quite a contrast from the way he had been treated before. "Hello everybody" Mitsuhiko greeted, going straight to get his breakfast.

"Did you sleep well, Hikari-kun?" Sugita brought his breakfast personally. Apparently she had forgiven him for his proposal from before the first victim happened. Maybe it was because of his declaration from the day before.

"It was a great night. I never thought I'd miss that sleeping bag. It'd have been better if it had been a bed, though"

"Koshimizu-san has the only beds. Apparently from now on he's going to sleep in the Infirmary to prevent anybody from taking any medicines for nefarious uses" Yurie said, looking at the Medical Demon.

"Good for him. Kimiko, this breakfast is better than normal!" Mitsuhiko complimened, tasting the scrambled eggs she had passed him. Smiling brightly, Sugita covered her face with her hands, bashful.

"Th-Thank you, Hikaru-kun"

"You seem also very happy today" He didn't feel like reminding her to not to call him that. He didn't want to lose the newly recovered friendship.

"It's not happiness, it's...nervousness. I'm so nervous! I'm going to be an announcement in a few minutes. I was going to say it yesterday but the murder happened and well..."

"An announcement?" It wasn't like Sugita was going to say something sinister, right? After all there was no way she could be involved with Monobear's controllers or with Lily's masters. The Tea Demon ran to the front and sat with the rest. Mitsuhiko ate his breakfast wondering what was up with her, and after ten minutes the time arrived.

Everybody looked at the front of the cafeteria, where Sugita and Sasuga had reunited facing the rest. "Excuse me everybody, we want to make an announcement" Sasuga vociferated, getting everybody's attention. Although he sounded firm everybody could feel a hint of anxiousness.

"You two? What is it?" Kishio leaned forward, trying to listen better to whatever they were going to say. Sasuga and Sugita approached each other and took their hands together, holding them towards everybody.

"We're announcing our engagement here and now. That's all"

Mitsuhiko left the cutlery aside, processing what he had heard. Where the heck had that come from? It was so sudden, he didn't even know Sasuga and Sugita were even friends, much less a couple. Besides he didn't know many things of Sasuga the person, most of what he knew was of Sasuga the commander. He did feel happy to hear Sugita had somebody special now, but...just where did this come from?

Nobody except Yurie seemed to share his surprise. Everybody else present clapped with varying levels of warmness while the newly engaged couple bowed slightly. "Congratulations! You two will be a great couple, I know it" Emiko said, smiling widely.

"This is not the best place to do this, but it isn't like there's any other option" Sugita said.

"What's going on here? When did these two get so cozy together?" Mitsuhiko whispered to Mimori, who was the closest to him. The journalist looked at him with contempt before realizing it.

"Right, you weren't around. Sasuga-kun and Sugita-san has been spending a lot of time together, one would have been an idiot to not to see something was going on. But yes, these days they were obvious lovebirds"

"But before I was locked nothing like that was happening"

"I did see something was sparking between them!" Mimori bragged "Later I interrogated them and found out they had been dating in secret to DeeEy for a year or so. I can't blame them for keeping it a secret"

Mitsuhiko nodded, so it wasn't really something that came out of the blue. It was instead something he hadn't noticed. Somehow that made him feel worse, was he getting distanced from his childhood friend? Not long after that another two crashed the reunion.

"Heartwarming, absolutely heartwarming! Will you invite me to the honeymoon?" Monobear drawled from the entrance of the cafeteria, entering and walking towards the new couple. Lily came behind him, rolling his eyes. Mitsuhiko in that moment also noticed Monobear and Lily were behaving stranger than before. They weren't fighting to the death anymore, somehow they were...friendlier to a fault. It was something that had happened during the trial too, sharing the same spaces. Did something happen between the controllers of those two while he was locked away?

_Those two aren_ _'_ _t going to turn out to be AIs, be another couple and bring freak robot cub-babies to the world, right?_

"What do you want?" Koshimizu asked coldly, Kishio staying behind. Why wasn't she the one confronting Monobear, wasn't she the leader? Just how much had happened in two days?!

"I'm here to bring the lovebirds back to earth! Here's the gift of reality, have you forgotten where we are? This is a game of mutual killing! Now that you brought your relationship to everybody you have raised a huge death flag"

"I wanted to announce it because...I'd have been devastated if any of us died before being engaged. We couldn't continue pushing our luck" Sugita said carefully, trying to see Monobear's reaction.

"Now that we said it it'd be great if the next culprits don't target us two, thank you very much" Sasuga said lightly.

"That's not the way to talk! Nobody should die anymore. There's no more sense on more deaths anymore" Lily chastised, crossing her arms. The word usage got Mitsuhiko's attention, something seemed wrong about it. _Anymore, eh?_

Monobear shrugged, defiant of the thickheaded denial the newly-engaged pair seemed to have. "You know what would be great? If I made a motive that involved one of you two. That would be the best motive possible right now"

"You wouldn't dare..." Sasuga had lost his good mood, narrowing his eyes.

"Upupupu...I would...if it weren't because I know I don't need to. There'll be a death, I know there will be. It's just matter of time"

"Holy..." Kishio stood up, going straight to Monobear "What are you scheming now?"

"Me? I'm not scheming anything. I'm pure and innocent. If there's somebody scheming something it'll be the next culprit"

"Do you think anybody will try to kill?" Mitsuishi whispered to Mimori, who sighed deeply and nodded. Mitsuhiko realized that despite the carefree atmosphere he had found during the breakfast the truth was that there were very few commanders believing nothing would happen now.

Most of them, Mitsuhiko included, were waiting and praying they weren't the next victim. For a moment Mitsuhiko wondered if this meant they were doomed to all die, since they weren't really attempting to stop the murders. _We either escape before our numbers are trimmed down too much or we_ _'_ _re royally fucked._

Monobear continued taunting Sasuga and Sugita until it was clear nobody was in good mood anymore. Satisfied with his work, the bear finally left the cafeteria, Lily following him after giving an apologetic look to everybody else. Once they were out of the way the commanders slowly started to leave the cafeteria to do what they needed to do. Mitsuhiko reached Sugita before she left, stopping her. "Kimiko, is there something going on between Monobear and Lily?" he asked, wanting a straight answer. Sugita smiled sadly.

"Going on as in what?"

"They aren't fighting, they tolerate each other's presence...did I miss something?"

"Oh, that. I'm not completely sure but I heard Lily has been tasked for now to watch over Monobear and follow his movements. Apparently the people who control Lily are trying to see if the bear can lead them to the Main Board's imprisonment, but nothing has happened yet.

"Ah" Mitsuhiko accepted that explanation. That seemed correct and would explain what was going on. It wasn't Lily getting friendly with the enemy, it was a mission. That seemed great.

-ooooo-

The meeting between Yurie and Mitsuhiko was made in the Administrative Offices. Yurie had just finished examining the contents of a computer and judged nothing useful had appeared. New areas had been revealed but no worthwhile new information sprouted from the machines now, and since all the computers had the same information than the rest, it was necessary to check only one.

"Okay, what do you need to talk about?" Mitsuhiko asked, sitting on the other side of the room. If anybody entered when they were talking he wanted nobody to know what it was, just in case it was bad for his public image. Yurie understood his precautions and spoke with a low tone, careful to not to raise any alarms.

"It's about yesterday. About not killing anybody"

"Are you sure there are no microphones here?" Mitsuhiko looked around.

"There are no microphones. After yesterday's trial Monobear removed them all, it's unlikely we'll ever hear of them again" Takayama's last traces of his life in the Headquarters had been eliminated. He may as well have never existed.

"Right. Okay, what is it?"

"We failed in killing Kobayashi-kun. Are we going to try to kill him again or will we change targets?"

Mitsuhiko shook his head "I meant it, I'm not going to kill anybody"

"But why? What about getting into the Main Board?" Yurie seemed sincerely surprised to hear Mitsuhiko's firm statement about not taking a life to reach the objective. The hunter looked around, making sure there were no microphones, and replied.

"There won't be any Main Board if they're not saved. Have you heard about Monobear's video?"

"I know very well what was in that video and I honestly couldn't care less. What I want is for one or both of us to be up there! Everybody else can go to hell, for all I care"

"Excuse me for having common sense, then!" Mitsuhiko's voice was louder for a moment "They're the ones who offer the prize; if they're not there it can't be given to anybody"

"It's better if they never return. We'll both be part of the Main Board that way, instead of only one of us. But seriously, Mitsu-chan, who can we kill?"

"Nobody. I'm serious, I'm not killing anybody"

"Bullshit. Why would you change your mind?" Yurie sneered. In moments like this Mitsuhiko really hated Yurie, she was very stubborn and at times her ambition disturbed him. It was the type of moments that made him wonder if he was engaged to the right person.

"Don't you feel there's something weird going on? With Lily and the Main Board and everything else, I feel there's something dark behind scenes and I want to find out what it is"

"Can't it be done after we win?" Yurie insisted. Mitsuhiko, barely holding back his frustration, grunted in annoyance.

"No, it can't! Besides we're not exactly the most innocent people around. I bet when the next person dies we'll be suspected again. I'd rather to not to risk that"

"That's easy to fix. Don't be an idiot and nobody will suspect us. I have promised to protect you but my patience has a limit. Are we going to kill someone or not?"

Mitsuhiko didn't hesitate. "I won't. You do whatever you want, but I won't take part of a murder plan" That may have sounded harsher than he intended, judging by how Yurie stared with her mouth open. It took a moment for her to recover, but when she did her demeanor was icy.

"I see. Yeah, I'll do what I want"

"Wait! Remember you could be executed. I don't want you to die" Mitsuhiko tried to remind her. Even if they disagreed on what to do that didn't mean he wished anything to happen to her. Yurie smiled with some grief before replying.

"Honey, you wouldn't ever suspect I'm the culprit. I can be subtle and cunning when I want"

"Are you going to kill somebody and risk us both to die? Because of you do...one of us will die. It's impossible for anything else to happen.

That seemed to stop Yurie from going right now to wring somebody's neck. She looked at the floor, deep in thought. "When we arrived I was sure we'd be together in whatever we did...I never really thought our plans would differ. I realize that...we need to do the same thing together"

"Then don't try to kill anybody either. At least give me the chance to find out what's going on, okay? I can do it"

"I know you can. You have always been a smart person, Mitsu-chan. If there's somebody who can solve any mystery here...it's you"

"Will you wait? Give me until the end of the week" Mitsuhiko requested. _Six days should be enough. I_ _'_ _m sure we can avoid our deaths until that moment_. Yurie wasn't happy with that proposal and countered with one of her own.

"Two days. You have two days. If you haven't found out if there's anything wrong going around then we'll both kill somebody. Understood?"

The hunter avoided rolling his eyes. Sure, why not to say yes. He was sure he'd be able to convince her to extend the deadline in two days if he didn't find out anything. "Okay, two days. Meanwhile please be good and don't do anything"

"Fine, I won't" Yurie stood up "Not to insinuate I don't think you won't be able to do it, but I'll start planning a murder for us two to commit. Until then at least don't let yourself be killed. If you die...I don't think I would be able to accept that. I have worked way too hard on you and who you are that I would feel lost if you died. Please, be careful"

"Right" Mitsuhiko wasn't sure what she meant. Her words were strangely ominous, in his opinion. She has worked way too hard on who I am? What does that mean? Before he could ask her Yurie went away, leaving him alone and befuddled.

-ooooo-

As there was a new floor discovered Mitsuhiko knew the best thing to do right now was to check what was up there. He already knew laboratories were involved, that much was defined in the most recent trial, but he wanted to check by himself what was been opened now.

When he passed through the corner where Hosoya had been killed he stopped and examined the place he remembered the con artist had been executed at. Monobear had done a marvelous job cleaning up the blood that undoubtedly filled the floor. If he didn't know better he wouldn't have ever guessed somebody had died there. Approaching with some reluctance he put his face near to the wall, fearing the spikes that had killed Hosoya would spring and impale him.

But there weren't any holes or any indications there was something behind the wall. If one looked through the nearby window one would see the wall, devoid of any compartments where the spikes could be hidden. Not only that, the wall seemed way too thin for the spikes to be hidden inside it. _...there_ _'_ _s something strange going on with Hosoya-kun_ _'_ _s death. Wasn_ _'_ _t Kishio-sensei going to check this place yesterday? Maybe she found something that isn_ _'_ _t now here._

Somewhat concerned for the missing spikes Mitsuhiko walked into the Lounge and found the stairs into the Third Floor. Once he arrived up there he noticed changes in the building itself. Everything was of a shining white, almost sterile. The doors were of polished wood, very different from the doors in the other floors. The first thought Mitsuhiko had was comparing the Third Floor to an hospital.

The very first door he opened was the Chemistry Laboratory. Apparently the mole didn't clean the place after they finished creating the gases of the bottles. There were beakers, Bunsen burners and little bottles and cans strewn around in disarray. Seeing the remains of the anesthetics creation made Mitsuhiko wonder something that hadn't been touched during the last trial:

Who among them had chemistry abilities? Koshimizu was pretty much the only one they could imagine doing this, and even then it was a stretch. Just because he's a doctor doesn't mean he knows chemistry like this.

And if one linked absolutely anything to chemistry Sugita was another suspect. The gases were extracted from the sleeping pills, isn't tea prepared similarly to that? But Mitsuhiko couldn't imagine Sugita cooperating in the imprisonment of anybody, or in the death of any person. Unless she had changed drastically in the time he hadn't seen her before arriving to the Headquarters then she still was a pacifist who worked as a commander using her charisma and social abilities.

 _Okay, nothing around here shows who did this. I may as well leave._ "Are you done, Hikari-kun?" A voice asked behind him. It was Mitsuishi, still in more sociable mood than at any other point of their stay. "I'd like to clean everything here. Otherwise somebody could attempt to use what's left to poison anybody or something, right?"

"Good thinking" the hunter replied without really paying attention, although he did notice Mitsuishi accepted the praise wholeheartedly "There are no clues, go ahead" Mitsuhiko left towards the next door, several meters away. When he entered he was greeted by what seemed like a huge machine pointing at the sky through the window. _What the heck?_ It seemed to be some kind of death ray, the type one would see only in a comic book. It even had instructions pasted on the side and warned it was a dangerous tool of research.

The sign on the door said this was the Physics Laboratory. Just like in the Electronic Workshop from a floor below there was a slot aside of the door. Mitsuhiko supposed the list of authorized commanders was the same than in the workshop. On the walls there were mostly mirrors, possible remnants of the last experiment to be done before the Delacroix school turned into the Diavolos Avante Headquarters. There was a separate smaller room that functioned as a warehouse for materials. There were large empty boxes around, wires strewn around the floor, machines of unknown functions and what seemed like paint. _Is this what I think it is?_

It was a hunch, but it was worth testing. Mitsuhiko grabbed a piece of metal and looked at it closely. It was made of smaller panels and was quite thick yet fragile. Mitsuhiko opened one of the cans of paint, finding a green color he knew very well. He spread some of the pain on the metal and had his thoughts confirmed.

Lily had been made in the Physics Laboratory, in this same building.

He had started suspecting it when he saw the huge laser machine. If the last experiment made in this laboratory was related to lasers...wouldn't it be logical to think it was to give Lily the weapon she had already shown?

Spurred by the possibility of finding out who had created Lily Mitsuhiko started searching around. In a corner of the warehouse the hunter found lots of rolled-up blueprints, carefully drawn and showing different machines. When he saw they were marked with the author's name he felt encouraged, but despite his search none of the blueprints seemed remotely similar to Lily or any portion of her. _Well so much for this possibility._

If Mitsuhiko had to guess Lily's body was created in this laboratory and she was programmed in the Administrative Offices. At least that was the only place he could think that had computers and the such.

The third Laboratory opened was the Biology Laboratory and when Mitsuhiko opened the door he immediately cringed, horrified. The stench inside was terrible and it was something the hunter knew very well: it was the stench of animals decomposing.

There were cages on tables lining the laboratory, each having mice and other small animals. Judging by the state of their little bodies they died recently, and unless he was mistaken it was from starvation or dehydration. The containers for food and water were empty and the cages seemed like they hadn't been cleaned in quite some time.

There was also a couple that was still alive, although in a pitiful state. Taking pity of them Mitsuhiko looked around and found a bag of food, filling the food and water containers and taking the cages out. The mice had practically thrown themselves over the food, and once the hunter placed the cages in the hallway he entered back to see what else could be found.

There was a large aquarium and the fishes were floating upside-down. There was nothing of interest inside the tank or the water. In the drawers of the desks were loads and loads of papers detailing what seemed like biological studies on the animals and experiments that he didn't feel like reading. He didn't think it'd matter.

As there was no way to dispose of the mice he couldn't do anything other than leaving them there.

After closing the door of the Biology Laboratory and the stale and awful air from the inside of the laboratory started to dilute he took a few deep breaths, looking at the mice that were alive. Those were only two cages and he decided the best place to keep them would be in the Chemistry Laboratory. He didn't really feel like keeping them in his bedroom.

There were two places left. There were balconies. One opened above the Carpentry Workshop's window while the other opened in front of the Electronics Workshop's window. Mitsuhiko right now was in front of the first balcony, and unless he had missed something there was no path towards the second balcony. The only possibility would be...that it was sealed away.

The balcony itself Mitsuhiko was standing on seemed to be refurnished in a way that it seemed to be used as an Astronomy Laboratory. It was quite large and had a number of telescopes staring into the sky. Charts of the stars and planets decorated the wall and handfuls of cables formed dioramas and large monuments that resembled solar systems. They were hanging from long planks that emerged from the windows of the Fourth Floor.

The hunter took one of the telescopes and looked through it to the streets. There was nobody walking, nobody who could help them. Even if they hung a sign asking for help to get out (and supposing the other commanders wanted such thing) nobody would be able to help them. There were trees in the sidewalk, as tall the third floor and barely surpassing the tall steel fence.

The Headquarters were isolated despite being in middle of the city. They were really only able to rely on themselves.

 _So this is all there_ _'_ _s to see in the floor, other than that second balcony_. He did know there was a place more but it was out of their reach. Even from the balcony he wouldn't be able to jump that far, it was impossible to go. He had to forget about that place for now. Since the Third Floor seemed to be full of only laboratories it was logical to suppose it was another one.

At least there had been one worthwhile discovery, in his opinion: the Physics Laboratory's content. He felt there could be a way to start working from there on the mystery of who created Lily, but...he couldn't think exactly how.

Returning to the first floor he took lunch, thoughtful, and went around to walk. He may as well spend the afternoon with somebody and see how everything goes in the next day. At this rate it was...matter of waiting for the culprit to strike. He felt that going to the Fourth Floor could be a valuable way to progress, but for that one person more would have to die.

However that didn't convince him letting a person die was the correct thing to do. If he could sense anything that meant a murder was about to be committed then he would do his best to stop it. Who had been the one that almost killed Kobayashi some days ago while he was locked in his cell? Mimori? Maybe it was a good idea to keep an eye on her, just in case that wasn't something that happened in a moment of rage, but a planned murder.

 _Time to take a walk_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter has Free Time events. If you wish to see a specific character feel free to comment or pass a message somehow!


	18. Chapter 3: Trying to Exorcise Demons - (Ab)normal Days II

Not really feeling like being inside the building Mitsuhiko went outside to walk on the Courtyard, both the front and the back. Looking from the fence to the Headquarters he could see it was only four floors high. He supposed the Main Board were prisoners in the last floor, there didn't seem like there were other places they could be in. The roof of the Headquarters weren't a roof. There was actually a terrace, its entrance available in the Fourth Floor.

It'd be quite a jerk move from Monobear if they were tied to a pipe on the terrace and its door was blocked until a fourth murder happened. Mitsuhiko prepared himself to not to be surprised if that happened.

Looking around Mitsuhiko got to the Back Courtyard and found the shed and the Greenhouse. There was somebody in the Greenhouse; at least it seemed there was a shadow behind the glass. Mitsuhiko went ahead and entered, curious.

It was Sugita. The Tea Demon was picking up flowers and leaves. "Kimiko?"

"Hi there, Hikaru-kun"

"It's Hikari. Please, call me that. I'm not Hikaru anymore" Mitsuhiko said, pinching the bridge of his nose. Sugita's expression soured before replying.

"I know. The Hikaru I knew is gone and what's left is somebody that festered inside his heart"

_Wow_. The conversation wasn't going like Mitsuhiko had thought it would. They didn't even say the usual pleasantries! "What's that supposed to mean?"

"What I mean is that the person 'Mitsuhiko Hikari' is no more than a demon. A demon took your face and is now wearing it, pretending to be the friend I knew for so long..." Sugita looked at the glass roof, staring at the sky. "Sometimes I wonder if just like 'Mitsuhiko' grew inside you...I wonder if 'Hikaru' is somewhere in you right now"

"I haven't really changed that much" Mitsuhiko replied, but Sugita looked like he had just spit on her. The hunter looked away, ashamed.

"You have. I know people change and all that, but what happened to you doesn't _feel natural_ , do you understand? I feel that...something must have happened that turned you into who you are right now"

"Surely it was the death of my parents. That tends to be a big change especially when one's an impressionable teenager"

"No, I think that isn't it. Or maybe it was just the beginning, I don't know"

"If it wasn't that when what was it?" Mitsuhiko asked. The conversation was making him extremely uncomfortable, and Sugita was talking with a very nostalgic tone. Had she kept these thoughts in her head all this time?

"I...I don't know for sure, but I think what happened is that you _met_ a demon. Demons exist in the world, after all. Diavolos Avante isn't called this just because Delacroix thought it was going to be edgy, we're a group of people who are disenchanted with the world and wanted to drag others with them. Isn't that what we want in the end? To destroy SHSL Despair, restore the world and then rule over the people? How many conversions could we achieve, I wonder? How many people would have their hopes in a new world twisted and disenchanted?

Demons don't need to have horns and tails, you get me? They can be just like you or me. And just like you were originally another person more before you got turned into one of us, the cycle is likely to continue"

Mitsuhiko was already starting to walk backwards, his hand trying to find the door. He had enough of this; this isn't what he wanted to talk when he had seen Sugita. The Tea Demon, without realizing her friend was trying to get away of her, continued with the same monotone she had used so far. "Who converted you? Was the death of your parents the beginning or was it something else that demon used to turn you into one of them? It was _her_. _She_ did it. I think I hadn't accepted it until recently, I allowed your corruption.

Are we different from SHSL Despair? Wasn't Enoshima doing the same thing? Are we...really qualified to fight against her and her troops?"

Hearing Diavolos Avante being compared to SHSL Despair stopped Mitsuhiko just in the moment he had finally reached the door. "No, we're not like them" he said firmly "I don't know why you're suddenly bringing all this up but the difference between DeeEy and SHSL Despair is that we have a reason to exist.

Enoshima wanted to destroy the world and that's a senseless goal to have! We want to...take control of it and lead it in the direction we think is correct. It's just that we don't care about what we need to do to achieve it"

"...I see. Maybe you're right" Sugita started to return to her normal pleasant mood. "Can demons be good for the world?"

"I don't see why not. We're not good people, none of us is, but we're not _evil_. At least I think most of us aren't evil" Since it was possible one of the commanders in the Headquarters was responsible for the Main Board being imprisoned it was possible one or two would fit that definition. "You're right that we're a bunch of people who had some kind of experience that would lead us to being bitter and jaded, and that's why we're commanders and not mere grunts, but we're not as bad or desperate as you're making it sound"

Sugita's mood brightened. "You're right. Thank you, Hikaru-kun. Want to have a tea party like we used to have when we were kids? There are combinations I can make from the plants in this Greenhouse that'll surprise you"

"Let's go" A tea party like the old times seemed like the best option to make her forget her rather depressing thoughts from earlier. When they were about to leave the Greenhouse, Sugita carrying the flowers and leaves she had picked up, the hunter had a fleeting thought he wanted to confirm. "Kimiko, you consider yourself a demon too?"

"Of course I do. I'm not a good person either" she shrugged. When Mitsuhiko asked why she thought that she gave the answer that'd show she wasn't the same Kimiko Sugita, idealist and naive, he had known from his childhood either. "I unwittingly led to your corruption. How many things that went wrong in your life am I responsible for? All of them, because I led that all to you. Since the day you left to Kyoto I lost all hopes of being somebody people can count on to keep them safe. You see it in my job as a commander: I'm known for fixing morale and getting rid of hostilities, but I'm not known for _preventing_ them. I can't prevent, only try to fix what's already broken"

_I spent the afternoon with Sugita, having a tea party to reminisce our childhoods._

-ooooo-

"Yurie, I need a favor"

Mitsuhiko had found Yurie in the Lounge, just sitting around. The hacker looked up from her seat, smiling slightly. "What do you need?"

"There's this laboratory upstairs that has a slot to insert IDs and I'd like to know who is authorized to enter, just like the Electronics Workshop. Can you check that in the computers?"

"Sure, why not?" Yurie stood up "I can bring that information to you, it was released recently"

While they were walking to the Administrative Offices Mitsuhiko asked something he was wondering. "Hey Yurie, the information you find has always been in the computer network, right?"

"Yeah, what about that?"

"Couldn't you unblock all the information there could be? The less people who die the better"

Yurie seemed annoyed she was reminded the hunter didn't want people to die. "I can't. I suppose the Main Board knew of my limitations because I'm simply unable to do it. They protected the network very well"

"Oh" That explained it. Who better than the Main Board, their immediate bosses, to know all about Yurie's hacking abilities? Of course they'd set it in a way she wouldn't be able to go ahead and take control of everything.

When they arrived Yurie immediately say in front of a computer and looked for the information. The hunter watched how she did it. Apparently it was a series of folders that linked to a common root, each folder being released by the network administrator. Since the people behind Monobear were opening floors after each death it wasn't farfetched to imagine they held the same control on the network. There were only two folders, fitting for the two murders that happened so far.

The second one was opened and the information inside was encrypted into individual files. It took only a few minutes, as she likely had done deciphered it earlier that day, but soon she was able to extract the information through the printer. Its title indicated the people who were authorized to make use of the Physics Laboratory. Mitsuhiko was supposed wrongly, there was only one person that had authorization to enter. 'Tohya Sasuga'.

"So Sasuga-kun is the only one that could enter that laboratory?"

"I think so, but it wasn't always that way"

"You mean that there were more people before that could enter, until it got narrowed only to Sasuga-kun?"

"No, you got it backwards" Yurie corrected, looking at a deciphered file in the screen "The laboratory used to be only available to Sasuga-kun until the IDs authorization got revoked. Anybody can enter there now and it has been like that for quite some time"

_That makes these efforts useless_ Mitsuhiko thought. He had thought he had Sasuga cornered as Lily's creator (in hindsight it was a really obvious answer. The roboticist creating a robot!) but now he wasn't sure. It was clear Lily's creation was the last thing that happened in that laboratory, but if anybody can get in...then the only way to know who created Lily would be through their abilities. They were looking for a person or a group of people that could cover everything in the creation of that robot girl. "Will you able to find out when the change in authorizations changed?"

"I can" Yurie replied and searched through a different document. "Looks like the authorization protocol was changed two days before we got here"

"Two days?" Lily can't have been built in only two days. That was good proof he had created her! Mitsuhiko told Yurie of his suspicions, but she didn't seem very sure of it.

"It's just an ID. Anybody can take an ID. Sasuga-kun could lend it or somebody could steal it. This doesn't mean Sasuga-kun created Lily" Mitsuhiko took out his ID, given to him by Diavolos Avante. It was quite a piece of technology but nothing prevented them from being shared or stolen. Or maybe even copied.

"Uh...okay, I suppose you're right. Can you do me another favor?" Yurie nodded, so the hunter continued "Could you try to hack the system? I know you said it seemed to be made to be resistant to your abilities, but you're the Hacking Demon! You should be able to overcome this obstacle"

"I could but it may take time. Besides I also have other things to do, don't expect me to spend my nights and days in this office" Yurie replied.

_Way to be unhelpful, dear love of my life._ Mitsuhiko wasn't really in condition to fight. He feared that if he tried to push her hand she'd decide it wasn't worth it and then he'd be pretty much into a dead end. He had to let Yurie work at her own pace. "Okay, that's fine. Thank you, Yurie"

"Sure. I'll start working right now, but since I don't have my software it'll be even harder. Did I mention that this system is secured against me?"

"You have mentioned it way too many times" Mitsuhiko was done, Yurie could be so disagreeable at times it was tremendously tiring to deal with her. Once again he wondered why she had been the one he had decided to spend the rest of his life with.

-ooooo-

Mitsuhiko was in relatively good mood. At least he had made Yurie to work on the file network and he knew she'd be able to triumph over it. It was to be expected. When he was going through the Monobear Camp to go to his bedroom, when he saw one of the doors open. Approaching he peeked into it, finding it empty. "Who owns this one?" Mitsuhiko wondered aloud. It seemed pretty much identical to the classroom he slept in, however there were some objects that did show who slept here.

He had seen that guitar before. This must be Romi's bedroom. Seeing the chance to snoop around without Romi noticing, hopefully, he entered and looked around the room. There weren't really many things. Nothing inside the guitar, and the only other place there could be stuff in were the boxes in a corner of the room.

The contents were different than Mitsuhiko's stuff, obviously. She had notebooks and writing implements too, but one of the boxes had CDs and other similar objects. Taking several of those CDs, perhaps thinking there could be anything useful or suspicious, he quickly left the bedroom. With some luck nobody would guess he had ever been there.

The only place he could check the contents of the CDs were in the Administrative Offices. "Yurie, I'm going to...huh" Yurie wasn't there anymore. _Thank you so much for your help, Yurie. You are a peach_ he thought sarcastically, sitting in front of one of the computers. After inserting the CD in the appropriate slot he saw only one file.

'Admission Proof –Delacroix'. That was the name of the file. It was a video, and when he opened it he saw it was likely to be a song.

There was Romi in the screen. She was around sixteen years old in that time and her eyes had a shine that was now absent. It was likely her blindness hadn't settled yet. She was sitting in front of a white wall with her guitar, looking at the camera. 'Uh, g-good morning, admission committee...I'm Himiroko, agh, Hiyoko Romi. I...I write songs and I'd like to be accepted into the school.

I, eh, I have one here, one I wrote recently. My inspiration is...hm..." Romi pointed at her eyes gloomily "I was diagnosed with some sort of syndrome. I'm going to lose my vision sense. I don't know how long it'll take, but it's said in a few years I'll be mostly blind.

I can't let this overtake my life and that's, um, that was my inspiration for what I wrote, about how despite all problems I must keep going. It's...the story of my life. Thank you very much for listening"

Mitsuhiko listened to the song, paying attention to the lyrics just like the Delacroix admission committee must have done many years ago. The lyrics were far from perfect, in fact in his honest opinion they were pretty weak. However since she was accepted he supposed the committee had seen some sort of talent, even if he didn't really see it.

The rhythm was mostly with the guitar, but Romi had added drums and what sounded like keyboard when she edited the video.

* * *

When the girl wants to learn to walk

And she keeps falling down

She has to stand up and improve

The girl will keep walking, the girl doesn't cry

When in kindergarten another child

Grabs her hair, throws her down

And takes her toys away

The girl won't accept it, the girl doesn't cry

When people laughs at her

For thinking different

For keeping her mind open

They may spit on what she believes

The girl ignores them, the girl won't cry

I don't know if the wind does blow my words away

But I can listen the wind speak

Even when she has nobody to rely on

And the pain doesn't let her think

Even when she has no way of looking for answers

She won't cry

When there are mistakes

And her paths are dead ends

She learns and continues working

The girl improves herself, the girl won't cry

When for love she loses her heart

Temptations overcoming her mind

And she finds out saviors don't exist

The girl gets stronger, the girl won't cry

When she falls apart

Betrayed by her friends

She may feel her soul withering away

The girl maybe won't forgive, the girl won't cry

I don't know if the wind does blow my words away

But I can listen the wind speak

Even when she has nobody to rely on

And the pain doesn't let her think

Even when she has no way of looking for answers

She won't cry

When she receives a strange proposal

And somebody wants to use her for some goal

She won't forget the principles that matter

The girl won't stay silent, the girl won't cry

When she feels she's dying

Nothing makes sense and nobody loves her

The girl will remember she has fought so much already

The girl won't give up, the girl won't cry

Even when she has nobody to rely on

And the pain doesn't let her think

Even when she has no way of looking for answers

She won't cry

* * *

"As if I needed more confirmation. I said it: 'we're a bunch of people who had some kind of experience that would lead us to being bitter and jaded'. Why is that getting hammered into my head today?" Mitsuhiko took off the CD. That had led to nothing useful in his investigation, but that song had at least led to some understanding of Romi's life until now. Apparently even without the blindness she still had some difficult times.

_I listened to the rest of CDs for a couple hours more, before going to sleep._

-ooooo-

That night Monobear was walking around the halls, looking around. It seemed he had finally managed to lose Lily. That robot had been following him for days already. Monobear was no more than felt, a machine, so he couldn't show emotions the person controlling him didn't want him to show, but if that person had decided to not to hide it then he'd be showing clear signs of annoyance.

Now that he had outrun her or something it was his chance to go to where the Main Board was waiting, in the Fourth Floor. Walking as quickly as its plush body could allow it he climbed the floors until he got to the shutters blocking the stairs to the Fourth Floor. They opened, letting him come in, and closed immediately after that.

Unfortunately for the Main Board that was all the time Lily needed to sneak in.

The strategy had been quite slow but was planned to work. Basically she'd follow Monobear in the most unsubtle ways possible until she suddenly changed her strategy. The metal that formed her shell wasn't made of small panels for no reason. In fact, the circuits that formed her insides were made of special fibers that'd give her a curious ability: disintegrating into wires and threads with the thickness of a hair, without disrupting her processes.

Her head was the only part of her that couldn't do that, but it didn't matter. Lily had disintegrated into a mass of wires but had kept herself together for the most part as a bundle, clinging to the outer walls of the Headquarters. She waited for Monobear to enter towards the Fourth Floor and in an instant she followed from a window, slinking in the open stairs and sticking onto the ceiling, keeping her head into the shadows. The wires covered most of the ceiling while she advanced behind Monobear.

They got into what seemed like a Waiting Room, the Principal's Office was nearby. There were empty styrofoam cups and a single file, as if not long ago a small group of people had been discussing it. Monobear went towards a door, but before Lily could position herself ready to sneak with him through the door he turned around.

Lily spread her wires over the ceiling and kept her head in a corner, keeping her guard up. She made sure there weren't any masses of wires in a same place that could alert Monobear of her presence, and it seemed like it worked. Somebody from the inside unlocked the door and the bear entered but before she could even move the door closed and a lock was placed from the inside. _Drat_ thought Lily. Unlike Monobear she had an AI, so she knew what to do. If the main objective wasn't achieved then she had to look around for anything that could be useful to her masters.

Moving her head on top of the file that was in the Waiting Room she carefully made it descend while holding onto the ceiling. Tendrils of wires grabbed the cover of the file and pulled it away, revealing the content. Lily's eyes started recording the information and once she was done she made sure to leave the file intact again.

As she knew the windows of the Principal's Office were covered there was no way to see what was going on in there. Returning downstairs was the only thing left to do. Since the shutter was closed she had to look of other ways. All windows were closed and despite her efforts she couldn't open them. It was as if they were glued to the frames. The ventilation shafts were the last path available. Lily managed to open the cover of one and entered in it, making sure to close it behind her.

The ventilation shaft that led to the Principal's Office was blocked by a steel mesh and in the place she was in right now she couldn't listen to whateer was happening in there, so descending into the first floor was the only thing to do. She contracted and expanded the wires, and if one paid attention one would hear a scraping sound. When she arrived to the First Floor and exited into a hall she reformed her body, she couldn't let anybody see her ability.

Lily went into the Administrative Offices and typed everything she had read into a new file, printing two copies. One was left in the cafeteria for everybody; the other was given personally to her creator. Lily's creator read it; feeling like something had fallen in the pit of their stomach. The file was useful in a sense and it indicated it had been recently created, just a few hours earlier, but he felt that it might have done more harm than good to retrieve it.

Still, maybe they were wrong. They'd only know for sure in the next day.

-ooooo-

Mitsuhiko was the last one to enter the cafeteria. Despite the time (it was 5:30 AM, breakfast would be ready in two hours) he had been awoken by Lily, who said there was something important to show in the cafeteria. Everybody was gathered there, reading a sheet of paper. "Do you think the people who kidnapped the Main Board are doing it in revenge?" Romi wondered, unsettled. She had just finished listening to what written there.

"It could be possible" Mimori replied "This at least explains why he was executed. It's nice to have answers"

"What are you girls talking about?" Mitsuhiko asked, approaching. Mimori passed him the document Lily had left in there, and so the hunter finally saw what had everybody in such a trance.

It was a detail recount of an event that had happened in a shelter not far from there. A mutual killing game, whose mastermind according to this file was Kaiji Kudo, known in the main board as Volkos. Overall it seemed like a good explanation of why he had been executed; after all he had acted in a way that betrayed the organization. There it said he gathered the shelter and the stuff in it by using his identity in the Future Foundation. He had infiltrated there by using a false name, effectively existing as two different people.

It wasn't until he read the false name that he didn't react. Everything else didn't seem like anything big, in his opinion, and surely the others were overreacting to the mutual killing game in the shelter, but that false name was the most important part in his opinion.

The name he had used was Heiji Hasegawa.

_Hasegawa, eh_? Hadn't Emiko said her real family names were Hasegawa-Nakai? Sure, there must have been thousands of people with the Hasegawa family name, but in this case it was likely it wasn't a mere coincidence. The hunter looked at Emiko, who had a stony expression in her face. He couldn't pinpoint how she was feeling; she seemed more indifferent than outraged and saddened. Maybe it was possible Heiji Hasegawa didn't ring any bells. "Interesting…" Mitsuhiko left the document on a nearby table.

"So Lily brought that. Where did she get it from?" Yurie wondered.

"I heard she had brought it from the Fourth Floor. That must be where our foes are hiding" Romi answered, pointing at the ceiling.

"Volkos was a traitor. This file confirms it" Kishio declared "Lily brought it and there's no way the Main Board could know that she'd manage to get up there and find it. This can't be a fake"

"I'm inclined to agree, they knew that Lily was following Monobear, we all did, but I don't think they'd let her get so close to where they are hiding" Sugita agreed "What do we do with this information?"

"There's nothing we can do. Volkos is dead and it isn't like he's the one who locked the Main Board away. But I think that it's possible somebody related to Hasegawa is who attacked the Main Board and created this mutual killing game" Kobayashi said.

"Lily's creators were the ones who summoned us here. Then who is behind Monobear?" Emiko asked.

"The kidnappers, of course" Sasuga replied. Emiko took off her cap, messing with her hair.

"So there's only one group and they're controlling both robots? This is all a farce from them?"

"I don't think it's a farce. I don't know what's going on, but I think we're overlooking something" Fukuyama said. Nothing useful came from a short discussion that ensued, everybody was just trying to guess who was controlling who. All they agreed was that whoever was behind any of the robots was likely to be an enemy and didn't deserve any mercy.

Since the breakfast wasn't done yet Sugita and Emiko entered the kitchen and everybody else went to spend the time idly until it was breakfast time. Nobody was worrying too much about what Lily had found, Mitsuhiko included. It wasn't very useful information, but it did make him think.

What it meant…he didn't know. But it sure was at least a potential clue of what was going on behind scenes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter has the third and last Free Time, which was already claimed for Mitsuishi, as well as the end of the (Ab)normal Days.


	19. Chapter 3: Trying to Exorcise Demons - (Ab)normal Days III

Mitsuhiko yawned. He had been awoken way too early, who in their right minds would wake up before six in the morning? Not even he in the hunting trips he used to take years ago used to wake up early. It was very annoying to feel so sleepy.

Not many seemed to share his lack of energy. Most of the commanders were active despite the early hour; maybe the document Lily left in the cafeteria had energized them or something. Sugita and Emiko were in the kitchen and the rest were prowling around without a concrete destination.

The hunter didn't really have anything to do. He couldn't focus on investigating, and also he didn't know where to continue. If Yurie had managed to finish her assignment she'd tell him, but since not a word had been said about that it was to be expected she didn't manage to do it yet.

In the second floor Lounge there was somebody who had the same lack of energy Mitsuhiko had. It was Mitsuishi. The Flying Demon was almost falling asleep on the couch, but when Mitsuhiko sat nearby he lifted his head. "Hey"

"Say something good about me" Mitsuishi immediately said. The hunter ignored that, he wasn't willing to indulge Mitsuishi's newly found ego.

"Why aren't you with the rest? I thought you were going to be more sociable"

"They're losers. For some reason they have started to drift away despite what I did for them. Bunch of ingrates..."

_Oh damn it._ Being praised had a very bad effect on the local hypocrite, apparently. "You didn't really do that much. You did save us from death once, but unless you do it over and over again I don't think it'll be anything special"

"I saved you all once! That's...one time more than anybody else here could say they did! Is it too much to ask for a bit of respect? What do other people have that I don't?" Mitsuishi launched himself into a rant, Mitsuhiko tuning out of most of it. He was feeling a headache incoming. After a couple minutes he gripped the sidearm of his armchair.

"Shut up! Look, it's something to be expected, okay? You contribute in the trials, do something right and then move on. It's not worth remembering it as something special"

"Why didn't I let you all die, then? If I had known this would all go to normal after a couple days I wouldn't have even bothered"

Mitsuishi was starting to be irrational. It just didn't make sense anymore. "You'd have died too, you moron! What have you been doing, reminding everybody every hour that you showed us the Monobear File? Once is fine, two is passable, but if my impression of you is right you must have done it at least forty times already"

"Sixty-seven times" Mitsuishi corrected without even a sliver of shame "I wanted to milk this for all it's worth"

"For the love of..." Mitsuhiko now knew for sure a headache was coming. Maybe it was a combination of the growing pain in his head and the bad mood that came from being awoken from so early, but for the next few minutes everything he said was meant to be cold and spiteful. His tone made clear the intention was to hurt as much as possible. "I have no time for this. I knew you had a jealous personality as well as being a hypocrite, but I never thought you'd be an attention whore too. Is there anything else you are? Autistic? Retarded? Anything else that sinks you even lower as the fucking lowest denominator of humanity you are?!"

Mitsuishi was visibly taken aback by Mitsuhiko's outburst. The Flying Demon sank into the couch, horrified. "Am I really that bad?"

"You are! Hosoya-kun and you are the resident jerks of this place" the hunter spat, conveniently leaving himself out of the list "Did you absorb his assholishness when he was executed or something? Is that why you're adding insufferable to your list of traits?"

"N-no, I don't mean to be..."

"The reason you're pushed aside is because you are unlikable, it's as plain as that. You were given a chance to get along with the rest but you took that chance and drove it into the ground. Do you think anybody in here will want to have anything to do with you after hearing you brag about what you did sixty-something times? Is that so hard to understand?!"

Mitsuishi was silent for a while. During that time Mitsuhiko gradually calmed down until he knew he had overstepped his boundaries. He was never the most tactful person there'd ever be in Japan but that didn't mean he had any excuse to harass other people like he did. "Mitsuishi-kun, I'm sorry for everything I said…I shouldn't have…"

"Do you have any siblings?" the Flying Demon asked. The hunter, a tad confused from the change of topic, shook his head.

"I was an only child"

"Then you can't understand what I went through with my siblings. I'm going downstairs" Mitsuishi announced. Mitsuhiko grabbed him by the wrist, feeling him tense up.

"Wait, I know what I said was uncalled for but did you at least understand the point? What you did wrong?"

"I have done nothing wrong and I'm not forgiving you, Hikari. Learn to talk to people and you'll be treated well, until then enjoy being ostracized by everybody. See you around" he pulled his arm, freeing his wrist, and went away. Mitsuhiko felt annoyance at Mitsuishi clearly not getting the message and daring to tell him to improve his social abilities. _I should have known he wouldn_ _'_ _t learn. This was a waste of time._ Not feeling in mood to be with people for now he slept for a while in the armchair.

_I slept and dreamed what having siblings could have felt._

-ooooo-

Sleeping in the Lounge uncomfortably wasn't enough to replace the couple hours of sleep lost. He felt tired and was sure had eye bags. When he got into the cafeteria it was already breakfast time. Sugita was walking around, leaving plates on the tables for each commander. "Hikaru-kun, over here" the Tea Demon left her friend's breakfast in his place.

"This looks great"

"It's nothing special" she said, going to sit with Sasuga and flirt with him. They were pretty outgoing with their relationship now that it was public and it was something everybody else was uncomfortable with. Japanese people didn't approve public displays of affection but the lovebirds didn't care at all what they thought of them. Doing his best to avert his eyes from the couple he looked at the other side.

_Hey, great._ There was a teapot on the counter, filled to the brim with tea. He approached and lifted it to serve a cup to himself. He knew that Sugita would prepare a tea mix that would fill one with energy for the rest of the day, that was exactly what he needed. _About time she started doing this_ This was the first day the teapot appeared and he was happy for that development, but when he lifted it a slight stench raised from the teapot. He could smell mint mixed with something fetid. "Holy smokes!" he exclaimed, disgusted.

"What?" Mitsuishi had approached to take the teapot.

"This tea smells weird" Mitsuhiko removed the top, peering inside, and using a spoon he tried to find what caused the smell. There were no more than leaves and water in there.

"Just because something smells bad doesn't mean it tastes bad. Isn't that how cheese works? Besides I'm no tea expert but I think there are some that doesn't smell very nice. This could be one of those"

"Try it" Mitsuhiko dared, passing an empty teacup to the Flying Demon. He filled the teacup and drank half of it, imitating Mitsuhiko's earlier disgusted face when he was done.

"Augh! I was wrong. This tea is awful" Mitsuishi opened the top and poured the teacup content back onto the teapot before going away. That's gross. As if the tea needed more reasons to be left alone. Mitsuhiko, not wanting anything else to do with that, returned to his seat. Not long after that Yurie took the teapot to the tables, serving tea to those who wanted it.

"Maybe Sugita-san prepared this because it's beneficial for our health. I can't think of other reasons for her to prepare something this foul" Koshimizu supposed, wrinkling his nose.

"What did I prepare?" the Tea Demon had approached, seeing the teapot "Can I have some?"

"Are you saying this isn't yours?" Mitsuishi took Sasuga's teacup and passed it to Sugita, who looked like he was going to throw up. Her sense of smell was sensitive thanks to her talent, so the stench affected her more than to the rest.

"No! I didn't do this. It seems to have mint but I don't know what the other plant is"

Kishio, who also had drank the tea, dropped her teacup onto the floor in shock. " _La_ _'_ _ana!_ Everybody stop drinking that! Now!" That didn't need to be told twice. Kishio took the teapot and took it to Koshimizu. "Koshimizu-san, can you identify the plants?"

"I can't. You suspect there's foul play involved in this" Koshimizu understood Kishio's panic. More than half of the commanders had tried the tea, and although nobody had finished their portions due to the horrid smell and dislikable flavor, it still meant a possible risk.

"What else can I think? A teapot appeared, it smells suspiciously and the only person around who makes tea didn't do it. There's something bad in this"

"I agree. Everybody who drank the tea please stay around!" Koshimizu ordered "If you start feeling bad please don't panic and notify me"

Mitsuhiko, who had been watching everything from a corner, couldn't believe what was going on. Was the the tea poisoned or something? Was it even valid to murder so many commanders at the same time?

The effects of the tainted tea started being seen almost an hour after it was drank. Eight commanders experienced symptoms of poisoning: Sasuga, Mitsuishi, Kobayashi, Kishio, Yurie, Koshimizu, Fukuyama and Romi. Despite his own intoxication Koshimizu was doing the best he could to help everybody who was sick, and soon those who were healthy had to help.

The poisoned commanders' pupils were dilated, all of them had nausea and several vomited their breakfasts. The public bathrooms were the main reunion place for them, pushing each other to have access to the toilets. All of them also had difficulty speaking, and progressively the symptoms worsened until it was clear none of them could walk around. Their legs were weakened considerably and had to be carried to different places.

The infirmary only had three beds, where Koshimizu, Kishio and Romi were placed. Fukuyama was taken to the Lounge couch. Yurie and Sasuga rested on tables from the cafeteria, and finally Mitsuishi and Kobayashi were placed in the Camp Lily hallway, the healthy commanders having taken those two's sleeping bags out of their classrooms.

The poisoned commanders' legs were so weak they couldn't even walk. If they were forced to move they'd have to drag themselves through the floor with their arms. What bothered Mitsuhiko the most was that now there were eight very vulnerable people, and later that feeling of uncertainty got worse.

"Any idea of what was in that tea, Koshimizu-san?" Mitsuhiko asked to the Medical Demon while he was heaving his gut out. Koshimizu took a deep breath, trying not to drown in his own saliva.

"H-H-He-H-Heml-Hem-ck-gh-h-ooooock" he moaned. It took a moment to Mitsuhiko to understand what he meant.

"Hemlock? There was hemlock in that tea?" Mitsuhiko knew some things about hemlock. For example, it was very rare to see in Japan, let alone in an urban area. It was painfully obvious the hemlock didn't simply arrive into a teapot with mint tea; somebody had to add it there. Where had the poisoner obtained hemlock from?

Hemlock was also horrifyingly toxic. If Koshimizu was right then...deaths were very likely to happen. It'd take a miracle for none of the poisoned commanders to die. And among them there was Yurie. The thought of she dying suffering horribly made his chest hurt. Death by hemlock poisoning was something he didn't wish on anybody. It was already ugly enough to suffer the symptoms of the poisoning by that plan. "What can we do? How can we help?" Mitsuhiko asked with sincere worry.

Koshimizu weakly raised his arm and pointed to a shelf with a few cans, barely managing to not to throw up again. The hunter took the cans he had pointed and read the label. "Activated carbon?" He had no idea how that would help but he was willing to try anything. Koshimizu managed to indicate he should force everybody to swallow spoonfuls of it; at least that's what the hunter understood. Mitsuhiko wasn't sure if it'd work, after all more than an hour since the ingestion of the tea had passed. Would the activated carbon be effective?

Mitsuhiko gave everybody who was healthy a can of activated carbon and instructed on what to do with it. It took a while, but soon everybody who was intoxicated had taken at least a spoonful of that substance and had managed to keep it down. "We should each take care of two sick commanders" Emiko proposed "I'll be with Kobayashi-kun and Mitsuishi-kun"

That isn't two, you know. "Fine with me" the hunter replied "I'll take care of Yurie and Sasuga-kun and I won't accept a 'no' for an answer"

"Fine with me" the journalist nodded "I suppose you can do that. I'll be with Fukuyama-kun and deal with Lily and Monobear. Somebody has to keep them at bay"

"I'll be in the Infirmary with everybody who's in there" Sugita informed. And with that, the caretakers were settled. There was nothing else to do than doing their best to watch how they progressed.

Sugita hugged Mitsuhiko for a moment, murmuring him to take good care of Sasuga. There wasn't much to do other than keeping an eye on them. Mitsuhiko sat directly to the side of the table Yurie was laying on, taking her hand and keeping it tight in his hand. He could feel his fianceé's cold skin, she was in great suffering. From time to time he checked she was still breathing, although it was rough at least it was still there. Sasuga was the same, although he didn't sit around taking his hand.

The day passed slowly. It was nerve-wracking to be with them while they fought for their lives. The tables soon were covered in saliva and vomit, much to his disgust. It was one of the worst days he had experienced in quite a while, and he didn't even drink any hemlock.

Hour after hour went by. Neither poisoned commander seemed to improve considerably, but at least they were breathing easier and seemed to be in less pain. Sasuga was starting to regain control of his legs, although Yurie was had them paralyzed.

He didn't eat anything else during the day, nor did anybody else come. It felt like they were the only three people in the Headquarters, not even the robots made an appearance. Maybe Mimori was really managing to keep them away from the poisoned commanders.

"..elp! ...help!" sounded at the distance. Mitsuhiko, who until that point had been still aside Yurie, stood up, not knowing what to do. Should he leave Yurie and Sasuga alone? What if it was a trap? And what if it wasn't, would he be able to leave somebody in danger? It sounded pretty weak, coming from a certain distance.

It took him a while to realize he was hearing the voice due to the ventilation shafts, and while he was still trying to decide a scream that came from a healthy throat sounded loud enough for him to listen it clearly, sounding like 'stop that!' That pushed him to a decision, he was going out. Mitsuhiko ran away after giving a last look at the two commanders he was taking care of, and ran through the Monobear camp. When he arrived to Camp Lily he found Kobayashi in the floor, with his sleeping bag. "What...what happened...?" Kobayashi asked hoarsely, trying to stand up.

"Don't get up. Rest, Amy. I'll go check"

"Where's Mitsuishi-kun? He was here earlier...and Tanaka-san?" it looked like Kobayashi was getting better too. Seeing three different commanders starting to heal from the terrible experience was encouraging and filled him with hope.

"I'll check. Don't worry" there was no sleeping bag nearby. Wasn't Emiko in charge of taking care of both Kobayashi and Mitsuishi and weren't them in the Camp Lily hallway? Where were they?

"This isn't working!" a different voice sounded, it was coming from the Lounge. Mitsuhiko ran over there, finding three people in front of the Carpentry Workshop. There he could see Mimori and Emiko, pushing against the door. Fukuyama was also there, having gotten off the couch and dragged himself to the door, weakly putting his hands against the wood of the door.

"What's going on here?" the hunter inquired.

"Mitsuishi-kun...Mitsuishi-kun..." Fukuyama muttered from the floor, stopping the pushing. He still had that Monobear mask despite his sickness, and he rested his face on the floor. The girls moved being careful to not to step on him.

"Fukuyama-kun called for help and I found him trying to open this door. He says Mitsuishi-kun is in danger in here" Mimori reported calmly. She seemed pretty blasé about the possibility somebody was dying on the other side of the door.

"Step aside, you" Mitsuhiko pushed Fukuyama with his foot, making the masked commander roll. Between the three healthy students they turned the door knob around and pushed, feeling something blocking the way. Now that there were three people pushing the obstacle started to move until they finally managed to open the door. The inside of the door had been blocked by a heavy table, one of those they had seen in the Carpentry Workshop before.

While Mitsuhiko moved the table to unblock the door completely Emiko and Mimori entered and Fukuyama dragged himself behind them. "Mitsuishi-kun! Where are..." Emiko shouted but it didn't take long to find the missing commander. He was limply leaning against a table on a side of the Carpentry Workshop. They didn't say anything although the three of them had seen the body, so when Mitsuhiko turned around he was startled.

"Fuck!" Mitsuhiko exclaimed, grabbing the side of a table to keep himself from falling down.

The announcement sounded immediately after Mitsuhiko saw the body. 'A body has been found! The investigation will last one hour!' Mitsuhiko didn't listen long to it, instead approaching the body while the others watched.

Daisuke Mitsuishi was dead, there was no doubt, and it seemed the hemlock poisoning wasn't enough for the culprit. He had also been stabbed in a side of the abdomen and it seemed he had bled quite a lot from there. But that wasn't the wound that killed him.

The real cause of death was on his neck, there was no doubt. His head was leaning unnaturally against his left shoulder and his hand was grasping a bloodied electric circular saw, plugged into a wall socket. His carotid artery had been completely severed, causing exsanguination, and the cut almost reached the middle of the neck. Undoubtedly that must have been what killed him.

And since eight commanders weren't in condition to investigate it'd all rely on four people: Mitsuhiko, Emiko, Sugita and Mimori. He didn't know yet if that meant the trial would be between those four too, but either way it seemed this time dealing with the death was going to be quite harder than the two other cases until now.


	20. Chapter 3: Trying to Exorcise Demons - Abnormal Days

"Mitsuishi-kun..." Mimori murmured but it didn't seem like she was too affected "How did this..."

"Let's forget the 'how did this happen' part and go straight into the investigation. We have only one hour" Mitsuhiko said, crouching aside the corpse. As Koshimizu was currently poisoned and resting in the Infirmary the hunter decided he'd deal with the body, as he was the second person most used to corpses.

"What's going on in..." Sugita looked through the entrance, finding the crime scene "No way! Can this day get any worse?!"

"If you say that it will" Mimori noted. Now that everybody who was healthy was in the same place it was time to arrange everything "So, there are only four of us that are in condition to investigate. What will we do with the rest?"

"There's nothing we can do. All of us need to investigate, we're already very few to cover all the terrain" Mitsuhiko replied.

"Let's do what we can and hope nobody dies during the next hour" Sugita said, resigned "At least in the Infirmary everybody is getting better. I think they're out of danger"

"Sasuga-kun is getting better but Yurie is still very sick"

"Kobayashi-kun only needs to rest, he'll be okay" Emiko informed.

"And since Fukuyama-kun is here..." Mimori pointed at the actor who right now was lying on the floor, breathing with difficulty "He's not as sick as to need constant supervision"

"Koshimizu-san told me that after the immediate danger is gone they'll need at least around two days of rest before going back to normal. There's no way they'll be in the trial"

"Nope, they won't!" Mitsuhiko tensed when he heard that voice he now knew very well. Monobear had arrived to deliver the file. "But since none of them is at risk of imminent death their presence is required during the trial"

"They can't even walk, they can't talk very well and they still can't keep anything in their stomachs. How do you think they'll take part of the trial?" Emiko inquired with bluntness. Monobear shrugged, it was clear he didn't care.

"I said their presence was needed. They still have to vote! Now that chit-chat is over I bring you the Monobear File" Monobear brought files for everybody, even if most of them weren't going to be involved in the investigation. Mitsuhiko took his and read the content.

**Monobear File #3**

_Victim: Daisuke Mitsuishi, codename: Leviathan_

_Cause of Death: Exsanguination caused by carotid artery rupture._

_Location of the Body: Carpentry Workshop_

_Time of Death: 4:19 PM_

_The body registers symptoms of hemlock poisoning, among them inferior limbs paralysis, difficulty to talk, nausea and general weakness. There_ _'_ _s also a wound in the left side of the abdomen, caused by a blade._

"He died fifteen minutes ago. This artery is very important, he must have died in no more than a minute after he was attacked with that" Mitsuhiko informed, carefully prodding the ares around the neck wound with his fingers.

"I'll tell everybody what happened" Emiko said "They may be poisoned but it's obvious they must have heard the announcement. I'll see what I can find after that" She left the crime scene, barely holding herself together. This crime was a lot bloodier than the others; it was possible she felt a weakness for excessive blood. Mimori and Sugita also decided to go to other places. Fukuyama was the only one who was left, dragging himself around, but Mitsuhiko didn't pay attention to him.

Since the wound that killed him was the one on the neck then he could only suppose the circular saw Mitsuishi had in his hand was the crime weapon. Mitsuhiko carefully uncurled the corpse's fingers and examined the saw.

**Circular Saw**

_The saw that killed Mitsuishi. Electric, was found plugged and turned off. Mitsuishi was grabbing it when he was found._

As he saw it the culprit killed Mitsuishi and put the saw in his hand. When Mitsuhiko moved to the left side of the body he noticed something near the left hand: it was a blood message.

Or at least it _was_. It had been wiped away enough for it to not to be readable.

**Erased Message**

_A message that used to be written with Mitsuishi_ _'_ _s blood. The content is unknown and was wiped, leaving only a blurry stain on the floor._

"How smart, that culprit is" Mitsuhiko muttered. It sure would have been easy if the culprit hadn't erased that vital clue. Mitsuhiko, wanting to confirm if Mitsuishi had been the one to write it, grabbed the body's left hand and examined the fingertips. Effectively, there was blood in the tip of the index finger, as expected from he trying to write the message. However there was something else in the fist, which he wasn't sure what it meant.

The side of the left hand had blood as well. There wasn't a considerable amount, and it was possible the hand had gotten stained when Mitsuishi got blood onto his fingertip, but he still thought it may be worth noting because those were the only parts that had any blood

**Blood on the Hand**

_Mitsuishi_ _'_ _s left hand has blood in two areas: on the tip of the index finger and on the left side of the hand._

"Aaooo...ooo..." Fukuyama moaned, getting Mitsuhiko's attention. Fukuyama was gripping the windowsill, attempting to stand up. The hunter, alarmed, got to him and gave him his shoulder so he could at least get on his feet.

"What do you think you're doing?" he chided, not having decided if he was glad Fukuyama was around or he was wishing the actor would go away. Fukuyama tightened his grip on the windowsill.

"I want to help. There are only four, you'll need help..." Fukuyama was starting to talk better. Mitsuhiko, deciding he was wishing he was out, started dragging him away.

"Too bad. You're not in condition to be of any help, it'll be better if you stay away" Mitsuhiko got him to the Lounge couch and carefully left him so he would be comfortable "It's great you want to catch the killer but leave the investigation to us, alright?"

"Okay...give me...paper and pen. Please" he requested. Mitsuhiko, not seeing anything bad with that, momentarily went downstairs and brought the materials Fukuyama wanted. He nodded in acknowledgment and started writing while Mitsuhiko returned to the crime scene.

The moment he entered he realized there was something he wasn't thinking about yet: the state the door itself was found. There had been a table blocking it. Mitsuhiko closed the door and pushed the table against it. If the table was here then...how did the culprit get out? Mitsuhiko wasn't the thinnest commander in the Headquarters so if he could get out then most would be able to. After placing it he attempted several times to get out while at the same time keeping the table as close as possible to the door, but no matter what he did there simply wasn't enough space between the door and the table for _anybody_ to pass through.

If I can't do it from the inside then... Mitsuhiko exited the workshop and tried from the outside to place the table, but it was a heavy piece of furniture. He couldn't do it with one single hand, and even if he did the table wouldn't have been in the same position they had found it before. _If the culprit didn_ _'_ _t get out does that mean this is...a closed room murder?_

**Table**

_A heavy table blocking the Carpentry Workshop door from the inside. When it_ _'_ _s placed nobody can enter or exit without moving it away considerably._

If the door wasn't a possible exit then the other possibility was the only window in the room. The hunter approached it and tried to open, just to find it didn't budge. Taking a moment to find out why he realized it was locked. There was a mechanism on the window that locked it, and if his memory was accurate all windows in the Headquarters had such configuration in them. Peering from the entrance Mitsuhiko looked at Fukuyama, who was still writing. "Hey, do you know if the window has always been locked? Did you accidentally lock it?"

The actor shook his head. "No, I didn't, agh, lock it" Talking was a bother to him, so he preferred to stay silent. Mitsuhiko accepted that answer and went back to the window. There was a way to confirm it.

**Window**

_The only window in the Carpentry Workshop. It was found locked._

Knowing that the window was the only possibility to know for sure if this was a closed room murder Mitsuhiko unlocked and opened it, taking a look outside to try to find any indications the culprit had gone through there. When he stuck his head out he noticed it was raining outside. A light drizzle was falling now, but it seemed that at some point earlier a heavier rain had fallen. The ground was mushy, full of mud, and Mitsuhiko knew that anybody who stepped on the ground would leave footprints. However the grass and the mud were smooth and pristine, he could say with certainty nobody had jumped out of the window onto the ground. _We_ _'_ _re on the second floor; it isn_ _'_ _t like the culprit would break their bones jumping from here._ Locking the window from the outside of the building was impossible, now he had to accept it: it was a closed room murder. Fukuyama had told the truth; if he had lied then there would have been clues pointing the window had been the escape the culprit used.

**The Mud Outside**

_The ground of the Courtyard outside of the Carpentry Workshop has no footprints or indications anybody stepped in there at any point that day._

After closing the window Mitsuhiko dusted his hands and looked around for anything else that could be a clue as to what happened or how the culprit escaped the Carpentry Workshop. His eyes found the sleeping bag Mitsuishi had been resting in, it was in a side of the room. Mitsuhiko approached and examined both the outside and the inside, not finding anything worthwhile. It didn't even have any blood.

**Sleeping Bag**

_The sleeping bag provided to Mitsuishi at the beginning of our stay. Blue and fluffy, this is where Mitsuishi was resting while he was poisoned._

Since the sleeping bag had nothing that could be useful Mitsuhiko stood up and finally found something that could be better: a whittling knife left in one of the tables. IT seemed to have just been left there haphazardly and by chance it ended behind objects, making it hard to see. Mitsuhiko looked at it closely, finding the blade had blood. _Bingo._ Taking it carefully Mitsuhiko went to the corpse and lifted Mitsuishi's coat, finding the wound he had in his abdomen.

The size and the width fit the whittling knife. _The culprit attacked Mitsuishi first with the knife and after that killed him with the saw. Was the attack done so he would be weakened and unable to resist? But the hemlock was already doing that well enough..._

_I think there_ _'_ _s something I do not understand yet._

**Whittling Knife**

_A small and sharp knife usually used for carving wood. It_ _'_ _s the blade that caused the wound on Mitsuishi_ _'_ _s stomach._

That seemed to be everything that had any meaning in the Carpentry Workshop, but there was something about that wound that bothered him. _I need to ask Koshimizu-san about this. Hopefully he has recovered enough to answer me something!_

Mitsuhikoi left the crime scene, finding Fukuyama still writing. The hunter wondered for a moment what Fukuyama was so focused about but he had more important things to find about. For example: how was Mitsuishi caught in the first place? Wasn't he being taken care of? While Mitsuhiko crossed the lounge he remembered the arrangement that had been done just a few hours ago.

**Caretakers Arrangement**

_Mitsuhiko was with Yurie and Sasuga in the Cafeteria. Sugita was with Koshimizu, Romi and Kishio in the Infirmary. Mimori was with Fukuyama in the Lounge and dealt with Monobear and Lily. Emiko was with Kobayashi and Mitsuishi in the Camp Lily hallway_

Since Kobayashi was resting near Mitsuishi the first thought was to ask him if he knew anything. Mitsuhiko found the illusionist sleeping and luckily Emiko was nearby. "Tanaka-san, question" Mitsuhiko said. The courier had just left her room.

"Oh, Hikari-kun. I just finished checking the bedrooms. Nothing to report"

"Nice, but there's something I want to know. Where were you all this time? You were supposed to keep an eye on two people and one of them was murdered horribly in a place thirty meters away. I demand an explanation"

Emiko started pressing her fingers together, bashful. "Yeah, about that...my bad. I fell asleep"

"You fell asleep" Mitsuhiko massaged his temple; he could feel the headache coming again "You were tasked with watching over two poisoned people and you...you fell asleep. Am I getting it right"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't sleep well last night!"

"Right. You know this means Mitsuishi-kun's death may as well be your fault for letting him be killed, right?"

"I know and I'm very sorry" Emiko said, but something in her tone was strange. She didn't seem like she'd have a weight on her conscience for not being responsible about looking over Mitsuishi.

Emiko went away towards the Monobear Camp while Mitsuhiko crouched to check on Kobayashi, shaking him until he was awake. The illusionist rubbed his eyes. "Hikar...what?"

"Did you see anybody taking Mitsuishi-kun away? Or maybe he stood up and walked away?" the hunter inquired.

"I was asleep" He didn't see anything. Nothing can be easy when somebody dies, can it? Now that he had consulted with Emiko and Kobayashi it was time to try something else: Mimori and Fukuyama. They were supposed to be in the Lounge, a place where they could watch easily anybody who passed around. They better not have been asleep too or I'll tear my hair off. Since Fukuyama was the one who was the closest he went there, hoping there'd be any progress.

The actor had finished writing what was there and when Mitsuhiko came near, before he could even say a word, Fukuyama gave him the writing without saying a word. "Eh?" Mitsuhiko started reading.

" _Tanaka-san did it. I heard somebody coming while I was here and I pretended to be asleep, just in case. I_ _'_ _m an actor so it_ _'_ _s easy!_ " "You don't need to be an actor to pretend to be asleep. Besides you have that freaking mask on even when you're asleep" Mitsuhiko commented. Maybe Fukuyama glared at him, he wouldn't ever know due to that mask. " _Yes, I_ _'_ _m sure it was her. I recognized her uniform, that cap and that cinnamon-colored hair of hers. I have no doubts. Either way, she was dragging Mitsuishi-kun using his sleeping bag. They went into the workshop and I couldn_ _'_ _t see more than that. I heard a groan coming from there, surely when he was killed. Then Tanaka-san left the workshop and closed the door, going away to Camp Lily_ "

Mitsuhiko kept his expression carefully neutral. "Are you completely sure this is what you saw?" Fukuyama nodded emphatically, so Mitsuhiko folded the report and put it in his pocket. "Thank you. This could be useful"

**Fukuyama** **'** **s Testimony**

_Emiko dragged Mitsuishi into the Carpentry Workshop and possibly killed him, afterwards simply leaving the crime scene via the door._

"Do you know where is Mimori-san?" Mitsuhiko asked. Fukuyama's only answer was a shrug, so it was now time to look somewhere else. Since he wanted to talk to Koshimizu he descended and got into the Infirmary, where he found the three commanders resting.

Koshimizu was sitting down while the others were still lying on the other beds. He seemed to be the one who had recovered the most. "Koshimizu-san, how are you feeling?"

"...better than I thought I'd be" So far Koshimizu was the only one who seemed in condition to speak "Hemlock is very dangerous, I thought I'd be dead by now. My legs are very weak, though"

"We have all been lucky"

"I think the poisoner didn't use enough hemlock or the mint countered the toxins or something. Maybe we were treated quickly enough. I don't know. So I heard Mitsuishi-kun died. That fucking bear came here and gave me the file already. A saw, eh?"

"Yes but there's something I want to ask. How dangerous would be a wound here?" Mitsuhiko pointed at the spot he had seen the wound on Mitsuishi's stomach. Koshimizu hummed, mumbling to himself.

"Depends on how deep it went. There's an important vein on this area and although it's not as important as an artery the hemorrhage can be dangerous. Exsanguination could happen in a couple minutes instead of seconds, like it'd happen to the carotid"

"A couple minutes..." Mitsuishi had been doomed from the moment he was stabbed with the whittling knife. Why did the culprit use the circular saw, then? "By the way, did Sugita stay here all the time?"

"She did. We talked for a while, nobody here left the Infirmary. Who found the body?"

"Tanaka-san, Mimori-san and Fukuyama-kun arrived first, but..." it was at that point Mitsuhiko realized it. The body announcement sounded when he saw the body, but he had been the fourth to see it.

The culprit was among Emiko or Mimori, judging by Fukuyama's testimony it was Emiko. Mitsuhiko would have considered Fukuyama a suspect if it weren't because he was poisoned and therefore not in condition to kill anybody.

Now that he had obtained an answer from Koshimizu regarding that wound it was time for him to go find Mimori. She wasn't anywhere in the First Floor, so the only option left was the Third Floor. Going upwards Mitsuhiko found her descending the stairs to the Third Floor. "Mimori-san, were you in the Lounge with Fukuyama-kun all the time?"

The journalist shook her head. "Monobear came to harass people around so I had to distract him for a while. The culprit must have gotten Mitsuishi-kun in the workshop while I was away"

"You shouldn't have left Fukuyama-kun alone" Mitsuhiko chastised and Mimori had the grace to seem ashamed of that.

"I shouldn't have, but he was asleep and I had no reason to suppose anything would happen"

"Fine" the hunter wasn't really going to argue that. There were more important things to talk about "Have you found anything yet?"

Mimori showed what she had written in her notepad. 'Our daring journalist cracks the case!' Underneath there was a list of evidence. "Too sensationalist? I didn't solve it but there are a lot of clues upstairs. Go take a look"

"You could let me take a look at what you wrote"

"No! Do your own job" she said before sitting on the Lounge. Knowing that checking by himself was going to be quicker than insisting to Mimori to let him see he went ahead to the Third Floor.

The first door near to the stairs was the Chemistry Laboratory, and when he entered he knew that what Mimori had said it was true. There were clues in the Third Floor. He could see the Chemistry Laboratory had been used recently; surely it was that same day. _I bet the poisoner used this place to work with the hemlock to distill it something._ The equipment had pieces of dried leaves and other traces that showed what it had been used for.

**Chemistry Laboratory**

_The poisoner used the laboratory to try to extract the poison from the hemlock._

And seeing the hemlock leaves was another revelation: he now knew where it had been obtained. The hunter looked through the window and to the Back Courtyard, where he could see the Greenhouse. Where else would the leaves come from? Hadn't Sugita taken leaves for tea there yesterday? It wasn't hard to suppose the poisoner did the same thing.

...also, were the poisoner and the culprit the same person?

**Hemlock**

_The hemlock used to poison the commanders came from the Greenhouse, and was processed in the Chemistry Laboratory_

There were no doubts where the hemlock was after it was processed, too.

**Teapot**

_The poison was given to the commanders through tea from a teapot in the Cafeteria. The teapot came from the kitchen._

And because linking things together is a great way to remember details this makes Mitsuhiko remember another detail: the file that was left in the cafeteria early in the morning. That was strange enough for him to make a note of it, besides...

...if Emiko was the culprit this could be linked to her reason to having killed Mitsuishi-kun, right? Or maybe she was the poisoner. Or both.

**File About Kaiji Kudo/Heiji Hasegawa**

_A file relating how Volkos did a mutual killing game in a bunker. He_ _'_ _s listed as having two names: Kaiji Kudo and Heiji Hasegawa_

Now that he had linked all those thoughts together it was time to focus back on what he had come here for: the laboratory implements. Mitsuhiko started examining each one, not finding anything that he didn't know or deduce already, at least until he found a change that bothered him.

The two rats he had left here the day before were dead.

For a moment Mitsuhiko thought it was due to starvation or for eating too fast their newly found food, but then he noticed the food pellets he had given them was strangely wet. Touching it carefully with his fingertip he found they were still moist instead of having the dry consistency it usually has.

Taking the food container Mitsuhiko did something he didn't think he'd do, but since he had a hunch he had to verify it: he opened the container and smelled the rat food, immediately recoiling from the smell. It was never intended to smell like roses or cookies, that much was sure. The rat food always had an earthy scent but this time there was something different and he knew where it came from, that same stench had been in the teapot.

There was hemlock in the rat food. Wouldn't that mean the rats had died from that?

**Laboratory Rats**

_A pair of rats retrieved from the Biology Laboratory and left in the Chemistry Laboratory. Their food is soaked in a liquid that smells of hemlock. It_ _'_ _s suspected the rats died due to hemlock poisoning_

"Monobear! Monobear, where are you?" Mitsuhiko called. A minute or so passed before the bear made his appearance.

"Yes? Need help from this charming bear, Hikari-kun?"

"Did you clean the Biology Laboratory yet? It's practically a rat graveyard right now"

"Noooope! That's something Lily is supposed to do. I ordered her to!"

Right. That meant it wasn't going to get cleaned anytime. "I want to confirm if there's hemlock in the Greenhouse"

"That's all you need?" Monobear seemed disappointed "Poor me, nobody wants to spend time with me"

"Oh for the love of..." Mitsuhiko, exasperated, tapped his foot. Monobear somehow got the message.

"Okay, I'm telling! The Greenhouse was filled with exotic plants and among them you may find lots of hemlock. I thought some of you would love that! Upupupu...isn't it great when one's right?"

"Yeah, peachy" gently pushing Monobear out of the laboratory so it can't be said he attacked him Mitsuhiko closed the door to the Chemistry Laboratory, and without saying a farewell to the bear he went to the Physics Laboratory.

Unfortunately for the hunter neither the Physics or the Biology laboratory had anything to be found, leaving aside the corpses of the mice. He didn't really search very well in the Biology laboratory. Knowing the hour was almost over he got to the last place to see in the Third Floor and much to his luck there was something actually to be found in the Astronomy Laboratory.

Strewn all over the floor Mitsuhiko found one of the solar systems that decorated the balcony from the planks on the Fourth Floor. The marbles and foam spheres were in disarray among a bundle of cable, having been torn off. From the plank a small length of cable was left, showing the copper inside. It seemed that somebody had pulled from the cable until the plastic and the copper broke into strands, ruining the solar system.

**Dismantled Solar System**

_One of the decorations from the Astronomy Laboratory. Made of cable, marbles and foam it used to showcase our solar system. Now it_ _'_ _s ruined and strewn on the floor of the Astronomy balcony._

Mitsuhiko had gotten just in time to the Astronomy Laboratory, as just when he had finished checking the ruined solar system the speakers spread around the Headquarters sounded. "Hey everybody! Time is over! Drag everybody into the Meeting Room; attendance is obligatory for all commanders in the building. Unless you're dead!"

The hunter really didn't like the idea of whatever was going to happen in the trial. It was true the poisoned commanders had slowly recovered from what happened, but only Koshimizu seemed to be in condition of talking. The rest weren't going to be able to contribute in any way so the number of people involved in the trial was limited.

When Mitsuhiko got to the First Floor to go to the Cafeteria he crossed with Mimori, who was taking Fukuyama with her, and Emiko, who was lending Kobayashi her shoulder to lean on. The four of them were walking pretty slowly, the legs of two of them still weak. Lily was near with Sugita, possibly going to the Infirmary to get those over there into the Meeting Room. After making sure they'd be okay and able to get to the right place Mitsuhiko got to visit the two he in charge of.

Yurie was wide awake and waiting for him and although her legs were still completely paralyzed she was very grateful for Mitsuhiko coming to get her. The hunter practically had to carry her around. Sasuga was better and able to walk, although he had to take a chair to support himself all the way.

When Mitsuhiko arrived to the Meeting Room he found Sugita and Lily had successfully gotten everybody in there. Most of the commanders were sitting limply, either with their heads on the back of the chairs or on the table, none of them with energy to get into debates or discussion.

Only Sugita, Emiko, Mimori and possibly Koshimizu were ready to argue. _We_ _'_ _re doomed, aren_ _'_ _t we? We_ _'_ _re going to ruin everything between us._

If it wasn't for Fukuyama's testimony Mitsuhiko would have felt hopeless, but at least they had a good starting point. Now the thing was:

What did Fukuyama see? Emiko killing Mitsuishi? Or was something else going on?

That was where this was going to rely on. The only option was to solve everything using that testimony as the starting point.

_Please, let this be as simple as it seems...please..._


	21. Chapter 3: Trying to Exorcise Demons - Trial I

"Are you all ready for the triaaaaaal?" Monobear asked dramatically, spreading her arms to both side. Just as one may suppose when more than half of the commanders are deadly sick the response wasn't exactly enthusiastic.

"They're way too sick to do this, Monobear" Lily said with a certain satisfaction "Wouldn't you rather to postpone this for a few days?"

"No! The trial will be done right now. There are some who are able to talk and discuss. Let's leave it up to them to lead the trial to a resounding success! Or to a hope-crushing failure. Three guesses which one I want to happen and the first two doesn't count"

Mitsuhiko sighed. "Okay, let's get started. The facts of the case are simple: Mitsuishi-kun was murdered in the Carpentry Workshop. Most of the commanders have an alibi in the sense they were in way too much freaking agony to go around murdering people. So, who's left?" That was a rhetorical question, but may as well try to lead everybody to a possible conclusion.

"Um, those of us that weren't sick?" Sugita replied "Tanaka-san, Mimori-san, Fukuyama-kun, you and me"

"Right. Let's narrow this a bit more. The body found announcement happens when three innocent people find the body, are you following me so far?" General nods from those who were paying attention "Fukuyama-kun, Mimori-san and Tanaka-san found the body, but the announcement wasn't triggered. It only happened when I saw it. So! What's the conclusion from this?"

"The culprit is one of those three" Koshimizu responded. Mitsuhiko felt his mood enlighten a bit, at least they had Koshimizu available.

"Congrats, Sugita-san! You're innocent!" Emiko said but it didn't get more than a mere nod. Sugita sat aside and took Sasuga's hand, the Roboticist barely registering it, almost asleep on the table.

"Fukuyama-kun was poisoned, he can't be the culprit" Mimori quickly said "And I'm not the culprit either, so it was her"

"I didn't do it, I didn't even go into the Lounge or anywhere else near that" that was all Emiko said regarding that accusation.

"It's between us two and unlike you I can prove I didn't go into the Carpentry Workshop at any time. I have an alibi" Mimori pointed at Monobear with her pen "Hey, bear. Who were you with around the time of the crime?"

"Eh?" Monobear, despite being the main observer of the trial, wasn't expecting to be dragged into it. He stared for a moment before laughing softly. "Upupu...I was with nobody, just alone by myself. Why do you ask?"

"Bear" Mimori narrowed her eyes "Are you trying to deny you attempted to bother us at that time?"

"I wouldn't do such a rude thing. I have bedside manners, you know!"

"I don't know why I expected you to be helpful" the journalist slammed her pen on the table

"Either way; even if he denies it I was with Monobear when the crime happened"

"If he doesn't admit it then it doesn't count" Emiko crossed her arms.

"Because it's convenient to you"

"This won't get anywhere, Hikari-kun" Koshimizu said to Mitsuhiko while the two female suspects argued between themselves about who has an alibi and who doesn't. Mitsuhiko, knowing it was true, had to take the decision as to who blame for the murder.

"Okay, sorry to inform you, Tanaka-san, but you're the one I have to suspect here" the hunter stated. Emiko, who apparently didn't expect to be accused so quickly, looked at him with wide eyes.

"You have to be kidding me...why am I the suspect?"

_Okay, let_ _'_ _s see...I_ _'_ _ll try to prod her a bit. The main piece of evidence will have be presented in a moment, so let_ _'_ _s go for another one for now._

* * *

Monobear File #3

Circular Saw

Erased Message

Blood on the Hand

Table

Window

The Mud Outside

Sleeping Bag

Whittling Knife

Caretakers Arrangement

Fukuyama ' s Testimony

Chemistry Laboratory

Hemlock

Teapot

File About Kaiji Kudo/Heiji Hasegawa

Laboratory Rats

Dismantled Solar System

* * *

**Caretakers Arrangement**

* * *

"You were supposed to take care of Mitsuishi-kun. Sure, you said you fell asleep but it's odd. It sounded like a bad excuse to me" Well, it wasn't the whole truth but that could be useful to try to gauge reaction from her.

"You fell asleep? Was dealing with two sick guys too much for you?" Mimori sneered. Apparently the fact there was a limited amount of commanders available to talk gave some leeway to antagonize other people, especially when it meant not being the suspect.

"Shut up" Emiko quickly replied before focusing back onto Mitsuhiko "It is a bad excuse for my failure as a caretaker but it's the truth. You have no idea how badly I slept last night"

"I talked to Amy and he said there was nobody near him. You weren't there" That was an outright lie but it wasn't like Kobayashi was going to deny it. The illusionist yawned when he was mentioned but he didn't say Mitsuhiko was lying.

Emiko wasn't impressed, though "Nice try, but I know Kobayashi-kun was deeply asleep. I tried so many times to talk to him I know he was knocked out"

"He was asleep and you knew it very well, eh? Maybe you took advantage of it to, perhaps, leave your spot?" Mimori took the chance to barb Emiko. Mitsuhiko facepalmed, they weren't going to make any progress if Mimori tried to stir everything up every time there was an opening.

"Mimori-san, please don't. So, Tanaka-san, just because he was asleep at one point doesn't mean he was going to be asleep at all times"

"Does he look on condition of being wide awake for long? Look at him and tell me" Emiko pointed at Kobayashi. She did have a point. Kobayashi was now drooling on the table, deeply asleep.

Well so much for that. My strategy failed. "That's not the only thing I have against you, Tanaka-san. There's something else that points at you"

* * *

Monobear File #3

Circular Saw

Erased Message

Blood on the Hand

Table

Window

The Mud Outside

Sleeping Bag

Whittling Knife

Caretakers Arrangement

Fukuyama ' s Testimony

Chemistry Laboratory

Hemlock

Teapot

File About Kaiji Kudo/Heiji Hasegawa

Laboratory Rats

Dismantled Solar System

* * *

**Fukuyama ' s Testimony**

* * *

"Amy was sleeping but there was somebody who wasn't: Fukuyama-kun. He saw you entering the Carpentry Workshop"

Emiko looked at Fukuyama who nodded, confirming he had said such thing. "Really? What did he say, exactly?"

"You read it. I have his testimony right here" Mitsuhiko passed the written content to the courier, who read it a couple times. Mitsuhiko carefully looked at her expression; it was darkening the longer she spent reading it. It looked like she really didn't like what she was seeing. Once she was done she left the paper on the table, trying to keep a straight face.

"W-well, I see. So he says I dragged Mitsuishi-kun in there but he never says I killed him. That has a lot of problems so let's start with one of them"

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Hemlock / Erased Message / Monobear File #3 / Fukuyama_ _'_ _s Testimony / Teapot_

* * *

EMIKO: I'm not saying what he said is true...

FUKUYAMA: **I saw it**... *WHEEZE*

EMIKO: Right. But even if I was with Mitsuishi-kun in there...

EMIKO: ...I think it's clear I couldn't have killed him

EMIKO: If you take a look you'll see **I had no blood on me**

EMIKO: And his death was pretty bloody!

KOSHIMIZU: Cutting an artery with a saw would spray blood

EMIKO: **If I had slit his neck** I'd be covered in blood

KOSHIMIZU: Did you see any blood, Fukuyama-kun?

FUKUYAMA: ...no...

EMIKO: There you have it

MIMORI: I didn't look around but...

MIMORI: ...I don't think there was anything she could use...

MIMORI: ...to **avoid staining herself with blood**

EMIKO: That's only one of the many problems with the theory

EMIKO: Got a counter? Anything?

* * *

"I do" Mitsuhiko said. It was time to start figuring out just what exactly Emiko had done with Mitsuishi in the Carpentry Workshop. He did believe she had been the one who dragged Mitsuishi away and Fukuyama's testimony supported that thought, but that didn't confirm she was the killer. Mitsuhiko needed to solve all the problems.

"You found something she could cover herself with?" Sugita asked.

"Not exactly, but she could at least wound Mitsuishi-kun without being bloodied. Look at the file" Mitsuhiko showed it to everybody "The neck wasn't the only wound he had. He was also stabbed"

"He died because of the neck, not that" Mimori pointed.

"I know! I'm trying to clarify that it's possible Tanaka-san stabbed Mitsuishi-kun. Would that make blood gush like an artery?" he asked to Koshimizu. The Medical Demon thought for a moment.

"There'd be blood but it'd be mostly on her hands"

"It's be easy to hide your hands. Fukuyama-kun wouldn't see any blood if you did that"

"If, if, if" Emiko rolled her eyes. She was taking everything pretty coldly. "As Mimori-san said: he didn't die because he was stabbed. Would that even matter?"

"It would if it proves you had ill intent towards Mitsuishi-kun. A stab first, doing the fatal strike later"

"Oh, come on! Why not to kill him all the way in that very moment? It makes no sense to wait for later"

"Besides the stab would make him bleed out in a few minutes. There was no time to wait around" Koshimizu added.

_If she killed Mitsuishi-kun then she must have returned to the workshop to use the saw. I won_ _'_ _t be able to go any further if I can_ _'_ _t prove she came back_. "Fukuyama-kun, did you see anything else?" Mitsuhiko asked. The actor shook his head. "Damn it"

Emiko closed her eyes and smiled placidly. "It was not that bad of an effort but the facts can't be twisted so they fit your truth. Let's find the correct answer, okay?"

"But I'm rather sure it's you. Nobody else entered the Carpentry Workshop, right Fukuyama-kun?"

"Um..." Fukuyama rubbed his throat "I don't know. I dozed off and...ohnlee wok ap when" his voice started croaking, having difficulty breathing. Mimori hit him on the back, trying to help, and passed him her notepad and pen. While Fukuyama wrote she gave new data.

"Fukuyama-kun was asleep when I found him. I woke him up and he immediately dragged himself off to try to open the workshop"

"Seriously?" Mitsuhiko sank in his seat, frustrated "Is everybody except me falling asleep randomly today or what?"

" _I use method acting and I_ _'_ _m so good at it I fell asleep_ " Fukuyama wrote that on the notepad. Before that there were several crossed words, saying more or less the same Mimori had said.

"I don't think that's method acting"

"Let's not get sidetracked, okay?" Mimori put her feet on the table. Her behavior resembled the confident mood she had during the first trial when she was accusing Kobayashi of having murdered the first victim "Tanaka-san, you may have a point but it's between you and me. I have no other option that pursuing you as the culprit because it definitely wasn't me.

Any other defense you may have?"

"You haven't disproved my first point" Emiko replied.

"Fukuyama-kun already admitted he fell asleep and I confirmed it. Let's say he fell asleep shortly after you left after stabbing him. When that happened you returned and killed Mitsuishi-kun with the circular saw and set the closed room"

"...ah" Emiko narrowed her eyes "Since he fell asleep you could have gone in there yourself as well"

"I suppose you'd be right about that if it weren't because I was fending Monobear off and was done with it shortly after the murder. I can't have done it"

"He hasn't admitted it yet!"

"Not. Again" Mitsuhiko punched the table, startling Mimori and Emiko. If the whole trial was going to be like this then it'd get old way too fast "Do you have other arguments for your innocence, Tanaka-san?"

"Well there's another one" Emiko looked at Lily "Lily, could you project the crime scene"

"I didn't see it so I can't"

"I investigated it so I can give you the parameters" Mitsuhiko said and started reciting everything he had seen and found, as well as the quirks that made it a closed room. When he was done Lily projected a perfect replica of the Carpentry Workshop crime scene, including a small gray figure symbolizing Mitsuishi. "There. What do you have to say, Tanaka-san?"

"As you can see this is a closed room murder. Fukuyama-kun says he saw me go out of the workshop but if I had killed him then that wouldn't have been possible"

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Fukuyama_ _'_ _s Testimony / Caretakers Assignment / The Mud Outside / Laboratory Rats / Circular Saw_

* * *

EMIKO: The way he died doesn't matter

EMIKO: What matters is the table you see here!

MIMORI: What about it?

EMIKO: How could I escape the room...

EMIKO: ...if **a table was blocking the door**?

KOSHIMIZU: She's right about that

KOSHIMIZU: With that table in the way...

KOSHIMIZU: ...she wouldn't be able to escape

MIMORI: The door is not the only way out

MIMORI: There's also a window

MIMORI: I bet you got out **through the window**

EMIKO: But Fukuyama-kun says it was **through the door**!

MIMORI: He was asleep when you returned

MIMORI: You set the closed room and made it like it couldn't be you

MIMORI: It isn't that hard

* * *

"It isn't so simple, Mimori-san. She can't have gone through the window"

"Why not?" Mimori raised her eyebrows.

"Because she didn't, just like that. I checked the ground outside of the window and I'm sure jumping from a window from the second floor would leave some sort of print. Nothing like that was found there!"

"...oh" Mimori supported her head with her hands "M-Maybe she felt lightly and...yeah"

"That didn't happen. There's another thing that shows she can't have escaped through the window"

* * *

Monobear File #3

Circular Saw

Erased Message

Blood on the Hand

Table

Window

The Mud Outside

Sleeping Bag

Whittling Knife

Caretakers Arrangement

Fukuyama ' s Testimony

Chemistry Laboratory

Hemlock

Teapot

File About Kaiji Kudo/Heiji Hasegawa

Laboratory Rats

Dismantled Solar System

* * *

**Window**

* * *

"The window was locked when the body was found and it can't be locked in the outside. Tanaka-san can't have escaped"

"That's a good point" Koshimizu commented "I think it's clear what Fukuyama-kun saw wasn't Tanaka-san killing Mitsuishi-kun"

"But if it wasn't her then who…? And what was she doing with him in the workshop?"

"Yeah, she hasn't denied she dragged him there" Sugita added "What was that, Tanaka-san?"

Emiko fidgeted with her sleeves, looking to a side "I suspected Mitsuishi-kun had something to do with the poisoning so I dragged him there to interrogate him"

"How long was Tanaka-san in the workshop?" the Tea Demon asked to Fukuyama, who raised a single finger. "A minute? A nod was the only response. Sugita shook her head, confused "A minute isn't enough to interrogate anybody. She's lying"

"I didn't lie! It's just that he was too weak to answer anything so I left him alone"

_…_ _nothing she_ _'_ _s saying makes sense. She_ _'_ _s trying very hard to hide something, just like Romi-san was doing in the other trial._ "Tanaka-san, I see no good reason for you to do any of that. It's painfully obvious something happened when you and he got in there" Mitsuhiko said.

"And I tell you nothing happened"

"Come on! One doesn't need to be a genius to know what happened. I should have known it earlier"

"Then say it, what did I do in the workshop?" Emiko challenged. She seemed more annoyed than anything else, as if she knew what was coming and knew she wouldn't be able to stop it. _That part is easy. I think I can guess._

"You dragged Mitsuishi-kun in there and..."

* * *

_You killed him_

_You wounded him_

_You knocked him out_

_You tried to get him to safety_

* * *

**_You wounded him_ **

* * *

"...and you wounded him. You were the one who stabbed him with that knife, right?"

"Let's suppose I did" Emiko crossed her arms, defiant "What does that change?"

"Mitsuishi-kun didn't die because of that wound, it doesn't change much" Mimori pointed, doodling in her notebook.

"But the stab wound would have killed him. The blood was flowing freely" Koshimizu grunted, rubbing his legs.

"So even if I did it doesn't matter, right?" Emiko shook her head "So yeah, I'm not the culprit. Move on"

_...she isn_ _'_ _t trying to even cover it now. She isn_ _'_ _t outright saying she did it but she isn_ _'_ _t trying to hide it either._ Mitsuhiko felt there was something going on and unlike Romi in the other trial he had the feeling Emiko knew very well what she was doing. Feeling that pressing Emiko wouldn't help any further he decided to go for another matter. "If Tanaka-san stabbed him then why didn't she finish him?"

"He was going to die either way" Koshimizu said again.

"I know that! But had she any way to know that?"

Emiko's eyes immediately darted to a side before focusing back on the front. Feeling that may be a potential clue he followed to who she had looked at.

It had been Monobear. "Tanaka-saaaan...have you had medical training in any way?" Mitsuhiko asked. He wasn't sure how significant that had been. For all he knew that meant nothing.

"No, I'm a simple courier. Administrative skills are all I have" she replied dryly, carefully keeping her voice and expression stony.

"Then do you know anybody who has medical training other than Koshimizu-san?"

A pause of a few seconds before her eyes once again focused on Monobear for a second. Now he knew there was something going on. "No. Nobody at all"

"If Tanaka-san knew a spot where she could hit him so he'd bleed out then that'd solve that problem. It wasn't a random wound, she planned this" Sugita concluded, not having noticed Emiko's suspicious behavior.

"But then why didn't she outright kill him? Why did she merely leave him with enough life for a few minutes?" Mimori inquired "It doesn't make sense"

"It doesn't matter, I'm not the culprit!" Emiko claimed "I didn't cut his neck, who cares what I did or didn't do!"

"Then tell us what you did. Don't try to pretend you're innocent of taking part of the murder in any way because none of us will believe that. Give us a testimony" Mitsuhiko requested, focusing on the courier. In his opinion everything now depended on what Emiko was going to say. _Come on, slip up or something. Give us a clue!_

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

Whittling Knife / Hemlock / Erased Message / Blood on the Hand / Table

* * *

EMIKO: I admit I dragged Mitsuishi-kun to the workshop

SUGITA: But why did you do that?

EMIKO: **Not answering that**

EMIKO: Once I was inside I took him out of the sleeping bag

EMIKO: And...And **I stabbed him**

EMIKO: **Only once**.

KOSHIMIZU: Were you trying to kill him?

EMIKO: ...I was.

EMIKO: But since I didn't it doesn't matter, right?

MITSUHIKO: Sounds to me you had **an ulterior motive**

EMIKO: Once I stabbed him I left the workshop

EMIKO: But I'll tell you something:

EMIKO: When I left the workshop...

EMIKO: **...the culprit was already in there.**

* * *

"You definitely had an ulterior motive. Since you said the culprit was in that workshop then _you basically brought the victim to the culprit_ " Mitsuhiko said. Emiko snorted. Something about her behavior greatly bothered Mitsuhiko. Why while it was being proven she was a willing accomplice to the murder she still behaved like it was no big deal? She surely knew Monobear would let only one person escape! And that person wouldn't be her.

"Fukuyama-kun didn't see anything" Emiko pointed "Right?" The actor nodded, coughing.

"And what guarantees he was in his spot? How can we be sure he isn't the culprit and he cooperated with you to kill Mitsuishi-kun?"

"Hikari-kun, you're an idiot" Mimori rolled her eyes "This guy almost died because he was poisoned, did you forget that already?"

"She's right, he wouldn't be in condition to kill somebody and create a closed room" Koshimizu agreed "I couldn't even move my legs in the slightest an hour ago. It must have been the same for him"

"But why? Why did she help the culprit? What does she gain?" Sugita inquired, touching the point Mitsuhiko had missed "You know you won't be getting out of here, right?"

"I know that. Call me suicidal but I got into this murder knowing very well what I was doing. So I repeat again: the culprit was in that workshop when I left that place. Fukuyama-kun was in the Lounge yet he saw nobody enter"

"Then who is the culprit?"

_She_ _'_ _s trying to lead us somewhere_ _…and it's impossible. It can't be serious she¿s trying to suggest this is the culprit..._

* * *

_Monobear_

_Daisuke Mitsuishi_

_Emiko Tanaka_

_Kumakichi Fukuyama_

* * *

**_Daisuke Mitsuishi_ **

* * *

"Tanaka-san, you're daft if you think we're going to believe Mitsuishi-kun committed suicide" Mitsuhiko growled. It was clear to him Emiko was trying to mislead them to think the victim had killed himself and he wasn't going to accept it. Emiko shrugged, knowing she wasn't convincing anybody.

"Believe what you want to believe"

"Mitsuishi-kun was almost dead, being poisoned and all" Sugita reminded them "He wouldn't have the energy to create a closed room"

"He wouldn't even be able to kill himself!" Koshimizu added.

"Besides it has already proven without a doubt the culprit is one of you three" Mitsuhiko finished but Emiko merely laughed. However Mitsuhiko could feel it was very strained and there was no authentic mirth in it. _I don_ _'_ _t doubt Emiko took part of this murder but I must remember it isn_ _'_ _t as simple as that. There must be some sort of reason she_ _'_ _s doing this because it_ _'_ _s clear to me she isn_ _'_ _t a bad person._

**IS THAT SO?**

"Hikari-kun, nothing has been proven. You're getting ahead of yourself"

"I didn't say we have discussed it here" Mitsuhiko replied. Emiko seemed to be taken aback by those words but soon feigned her smug behavior again.

"Okay, let's see then. I want it to be truly undeniable, show me how either Mimori-san, Fukuyama-kun or me did it"

* * *

**Rebuttal Showdown**

* * *

Monobear File #3 / Table / Window / Dismantled Solar System / Whittling Knife

* * *

EMIKO: We all agreed from the beginning…

EMIKO: …we were the only suspects

EMIKO: Fukuyama-kun couldn't have done it

EMIKO: He's the only one that has been proven…

EMIKO: …is completely innocent

EMIKO: Mimori-san was not seen by him

EMIKO: And it's obvious by now I didn't do it!

MITSUHIKO: I don't get it

MITSUHIKO: Why are you defending the culprit?

MITSUHIKO: Only the culprit can be guilty

EMIKO: Is that why you're so confused?

EMIKO: What if I told you…

EMIKO: **I caused** Mitsuishi-kun's death

EMIKO: I left him to bleed out

EMIKO: Even if I didn't give the final strike…

EMIKO: **I contributed** to his death

EMIKO: That should be good enough, right?

* * *

Mitsuhiko shook his head. Emiko wasn't even getting a good argument; her words were jumbled and confusing. He wasn't sure what the point of the words was. "Tanaka-san, you're not the culprit and no matter what you did you won't ever be"

"Proof" that was Emiko's reply. Mitsuhiko took out the bear's file.

"We already defined you couldn't have caused the cut on his neck. The most you may have done is stab him but the file here clearly states what killed him was the saw. Did you get it already? To Monobear's eyes you're innocent"

"It isn't like he can say that…" Emiko said but the hunter wasn't done.

"The body announcement! It only sounded when I saw the body. You three had entered and it didn't trigger it. If Mitsuishi-kun had killed himself then I wouldn't have needed to see the body"

Emiko stared at Mitsuhiko for a moment before turning to Monobear. "Hey, bear. Tell them: in a crime with multiple commanders involved who would be the real culprit?"

Monobear, who had been lounging on his seat like nothing was happening, turned his head around. "Oh? The mastermind, of course. The person who plans and keeps control of everything according to their plan would be the real culprit of the case"

"Just what I wanted to hear" Emiko nodded "And if the mastermind didn't leave any option to somebody other than…killing? It being all part of a plan?"

"If it goes according to the mastermind's scheme then it counts"

"Tanaka-san, you're not trying to say… Mimori had her eyes wide open and soon Mitsuhiko understood what Emiko was going for. _But it doesn_ _'_ _t make sense for her to admit it Why is she so protective of the real culprit? Doesn_ _'_ _t she understand she_ _'_ _s going to die?_

"Yes" Emiko nodded "I _forced_ Mitsuishi-kun to use the saw to kill himself"

"No way!" Sugita shouted "How would you manage to do that? He was too weak to do it!"

"Right, right. So you say that" Emiko said "Consider this: was Mitsuishi-kun even sick on the first place?"

"You're saying he was pretending to be poisoned" Koshimizu concluded, eliciting a nod from the courier.

"Even if he was Monobear's body announcement condition clears Mitsuishi-kun's name" Mitsuhiko said. He wasn't going to let Emiko distract them with that possibility "Yes, Monobear himself has ruined your plan to frame Mitsuishi-kun"

A strange noise emerged from Monobear, it was like the person talking through him had cleared their throat. "I knew it was a mistake to do that. From now on the culprit will count towards the number of people finding them"

"That's no problem, it counts in this case and that's what matters"

Emiko shook her head, taking her cap off. It seemed more like she was resigned to see her plan partly ruined; nothing was going well for her. "But he _did_ kill himself. That should mean voting for him is what we must do, because he did it. Sure, I forced him but…I didn't give the killing blow. Do you get what I'm saying?"

"Um…" Sugita looked away "To be honest you have been very confusing. I don't even understand now what you have been trying to say"

"Same, what's the point of all this?" Koshimizu inquired, frowning.

"It…isn't clear? My bad" Emiko replied but it was obvious she wasn't really sorry about that. Mitsuhiko once again felt something nagging in his head. He knew Emiko was protecting somebody but her actions in the trial were confusing and her arguments flimsy.

"You're trying to confuse us, make us forget facts and stuff" the hunter declared "That's what you're doing, that's why everything you have said is disconnected. You're trying to mislead us"

"Ooooh…right? Why's that?"

"You know who the culprit is. You cooperated with them. You're trying to mislead us"

"Do you mean Mimori-san and her are working together?" Sugita asked but the journalist threw a ball of paper at her.

"I had nothing to do with all this, okay?"

"Stop that! We won't get anywhere until we put some order in this" Mitsuhiko hit the table "Let's start with an easy question: why would Tanaka-san cooperate with the culprit in the first place?" That was a good starting point. Emiko had taken control of the trial so far, it was time for Mitsuhiko to lead everybody in a direction and not let the courier confuse anybody.

"She should know by now that only the culprit will receive the prize" Sugita added "There's only one spot in the Main Board"

"Then there must be something else that encouraged her to assist them. Maybe she was threatened?" Koshimizu mulled. Mimori was doodling in her notebook without doing any effort to help.

_Threatened_ _…_ _maybe_ _…_ "I think you have the right idea" Mitsuhiko said slowly "Maybe Tanaka-san was…blackmailed into helping?"

"I wouldn't let myself be blackmailed by anybody" Emiko declared bluntly "I have nothing anybody could use against me"

"Is that so? Are you sure you don't have a certain detail like...something in your past?" Mitsuhiko had a pretty good idea of what it could be. It was pretty much laid on the table, but much to his surprise Emiko didn't flinch or anything. In fact it didn't seem like she was too affected by that...at least in the context of being blackmailed.

"No, there's nothing in my past that anybody could use to blackmail me" that was the courier's reply, and judging by her tone...she was honest about that.

"There must be a reason why she was a willing accomplice. If there's no blackmail then...what, did she approach a random person and say 'Hey, let's kill people'?" Sugita said, causing Mitsuhiko to suddenly look at her. _That_ _'_ _s it!_

"I think I get it now. Why Tanaka-san took part of this plan. I was wrong, she wasn't blackmailed. In fact I think it's more likely she was approached because she'd be useful for the culprit, but first they had to know she was willing to kill"

"That's a dangerous thing to ask, the culprit must have been pretty sure she'd help" Koshimizu pointed.

"Yes, exactly! The culprit knew something...and talked with Tanaka-san. If I had to guess...the culprit used this as leverage to get her on the plan. Not this object, literally, but I think you'll understand"

* * *

Monobear File #3

Circular Saw

Erased Message

Blood on the Hand

Table

Window

The Mud Outside

Sleeping Bag

Whittling Knife

Caretakers Arrangement

Fukuyama ' s Testimony

Chemistry Laboratory

Hemlock

Teapot

File About Kaiji Kudo/Heiji Hasegawa

Laboratory Rats

Dismantled Solar System

* * *

**Hemlock**

* * *

"The hemlock?" Mimori's eyes widened "You don't mean that...that Tanaka-san is the one who..." Mimori wasn't an idiot; she knew very well what Mitsuhiko was saying. What she wanted was him to say it plainly so she could evaluate Emiko's reaction.

The courier wasn't an idiot either. She looked away, pulling the brim of her cap down to her eyes. "I see what you're trying to pull. You're trying to pin _that_ on me now, aren't you?"

That was truer than Mitsuhiko liked to admit. "I don't need to pin on you something you actually did. You added the hemlock to the tea. You almost killed eight people" There was absolutely no evidence that Emiko was the poisoner. In fact all he had was a very faint possibility _. She must have been the poisoner. Otherwise the culprit wouldn_ _'_ _t have contacted her. The culprit somehow found out she did that and that led to she helping them._

_I can_ _'_ _t be wrong about this._


	22. Chapter 3: Trying to Exorcise Demons - Trial II

"Hikari-kun, are you absolutely sure she did that?" Koshimizu asked. Everybody who was healthy enough paid attention, and to be frank the hunter didn't feel very comfortable. He knew that his answer would mean where the trial would go. An affirmative answer would mean that if he was wrong then he'd lose all credibility and they'd be likely to vote for the wrong person. If he said he wasn't sure then they wouldn't progress at all.

It was a risk he had to take. "I'm completely sure of it"

"And I suppose you have proof of that?" Emiko asked pointedly. Mitsuhiko shook his head, trying to be as noncommittal as possible.

"I have a theory"

"A theory without proof won't be any good"

"Has that ever stopped us before? We need to do everything we can" Mitsuhiko got ready to say what he had in mind. "Remember Hosoya-kun's plan for murder? How somebody, the mole, extracted gaseous anesthetics from sleeping pills? I think something similar happened this time"

Sasuga leaned forward and said something with a raspy voice. It was unintelligible but it was encouraging too, a sign the others were getting better. _Hemlock is very toxic; nobody should be getting better so quickly. Why did nobody die? Was that on purpose_? Sugita, noticing her boyfriend's attempt, approached so he told her in a low voice what he meant and passed the message to the rest "If Tanaka-san was the poisoner then she must have done that by herself. Are you saying she's the mole?"

"She got here in strange circumstances. Maybe she is" Mimori supported.

"No, I don't think she's the mole, but what I'm saying is that I think the mole is the _culprit_ of this case. The mole took the saw and killed Mitsuishi-kun" Mitsuhiko clarified.

"I don't get it...start from the beginning" Sugita murmured. Mitsuhiko got his ideas in order; there was one starting point for his theory. He was sure that Emiko was no more than the accomplice and was protecting the culprit, the person that dealt the killing blow. Her words so far was no more than a smoke screen, her stuff about being the true mastermind and Mitsuishi killing himself and everything were desperate attempts to protect the culprit.

He wasn't going to let the culprit win. "Okay, as I said the culprit enlisted Tanaka-san's help to kill. They knew she was willing to murder somebody, and as I see it there's only one moment when they found out that"

* * *

Monobear File #3

Circular Saw

Erased Message

Blood on the Hand

Table

Window

The Mud Outside

Sleeping Bag

Whittling Knife

Caretakers Arrangement

Fukuyama ' s Testimony

Chemistry Laboratory

Hemlock

Teapot

File About Kaiji Kudo/Heiji Hasegawa

Laboratory Rats

Dismantled Solar System

* * *

**Chemistry Laboratory**

* * *

"Seeing anybody carrying hemlock around, even if it can be recognized as such, isn't really suspicious. Seeing anybody with a teapot, even if it's recognized as what carries the poison, doesn't mean that person did it.

But if they see anybody distilling hemlock in a laboratory...it's enough to raise some alarm, isn't it?"

"So you say the mole saw Tanaka-san attempting to obtain the hemlock toxins in the laboratory?" Mimori smiled "Seems to me a lie can be concocted in a moment like that"

"This isn't as easy as hiding it behind your back. The mole has a background in chemistry. After taking a look they'd know what she was doing and maybe...they'd offer some assistance in exchange of helping them in their own plan"

"But Tanaka-san had no reason to kill us" Koshimizu argued "She could have done it at any point before"

"It's not that hard to find out: she's not one of us. She is not a commander, she's an outsider. For all she cares we're no more than strangers" Mimori replied "Murdering horribly wouldn't be a problem for her"

"But it's unfair, why would the bear let her kill eight people?" Sugita inquired, eliciting a low cackle from Monobear.

"Upupu...I never said you were limited to killing _one_ person. As long as there's one culprit standing at the end it doesn't matter how many people die. For all I care one of you can kill everybody else who's alive!" the surviving commanders cringed, now that this detail was revealed in plain sight it was possible somebody would attempt to become a serial murderer.

"Either way, something must have changed, something made Tanaka-san attempt to kill us"

"I can't believe you all already think I did it. Don't I get the benefit of doubt?" Emiko was leaning her chair backwards and looking at the ceiling without any expression.

"You already admitted cooperating in some way with this death, it's not that much of a reach to think you're the poisoner" Mitsuhiko asserted "But I agree, something must have changed...

...and I have a very good idea what it was"

This made Emiko straighten in her seat so quickly she almost fell down from the chair. "Really? What is it?"

"Alright, you got here unexpectedly, bringing a gun to me and all. It's obvious it wasn't an accident. Maybe you're not from the Future Foundation but you have an agenda to meet. If I had to guess I think you got in here to...to look for information"

"Look for information? There's nothing to find out here, my arrival was just an accident" Emiko's eye twitched for a moment before she recovered a measure of calmness "What kind of information would I risk my life to find out? I'd have to be an idiot to do that!"

_She wanted information, something worth risking her life...all I need is to think what she told me while I was in the cell and think about what we found out today._

_...time to drag out in plain sight who you really are, Tanaka-san._

* * *

**Panic Talk Battle**

* * *

EMIKO: There's an explanation for everything

EMIKO: Why would I want this?

EMIKO: I don't want to be here!

EMIKO: Let me go! Let me go!

EMIKO: It's a mistake!

EMIKO: There's nothing wrong with me

EMIKO: N-No reason at all!

EMIKO: Do you hate me that much?!

EMIKO: Stop that!

EMIKO: There's nothing to find out!

* * *

**What kind of information would I risk my life for?**

* * *

_Deaths of sister and husband_

* * *

"Tanaka-san...no...Hasegawa-san. You didn't get here as an accident. You knew very well what you were doing. You're looking for answers about...two people who died"

The silence was thick and uncomfortable. Emiko's shoulders raised, she was bracing herself for what was going to come. "Say it, what do you know?"

"I know what you have told me and what we all found out"

"...gawa? Is it about ...eria?" Kobayashi gasped, attempting to form words. It took him several tries to say what he was trying to say. 'Hasegawa? Is it about the file in the cafeteria?'

"Yes, that's something related to her reason to be here, but it's just half. Let me explain this:

Emiko Tanaka doesn't exist in this building. Her real name, which she told me some days ago, is Emiko Hasegawa-Nakai. Heiji Hasegawa, the man that was Volkos, was her husband. Whether that was his true name or not doesn't matter, she took his last name.

Volkos died as a traitor, the mastermind of a massacre: the mutual killing game in a bunker some miles away from here, we all know that...and it's to be expected she knew that too. But you didn't accept that, right Hasegawa-san? You felt there was something else.

But Volkos wasn't the only person you lost in that bunker...you lost a sister too. You said that"

"When did she say that?" Sugita inquired.

"When I was in my cell we talked, that's when she told me her name...she said she had lost a sister there. That was all she said, of course she wouldn't want to say the details, but that's all I need to know right now. This is what she came for:

To find out how responsible DeeEy was of those two deaths. And looks like the answer she found was that...Diavolos Avante were the ones to blame. Then you wanted to kill us because we were high ranking members of DeeEy, right?"

Emiko was silent. Her attempt to shout a lot to stop Mitsuhiko from revealing the reason she was caught in the game of mutual killing had been unsuccessful, everybody now knew about her real last names and the motive for her presence there. "Is all that true?" Mimori asked, approaching slowly. Anybody could see that, if Emiko refused to tell the truth, Mimori would badger her until everybody was fed up with everything. To avoid an unstoppable series of questions Emiko decided to surrender.

"You got that mostly right, Hikari-kun. I regret having told you my real name. You wouldn't have done the connection if it hadn't been for that"

"I would have but it would have taken me more time" Mitsuhiko declared.

"Right. Okay, first than all...my given name isn't Emiko. I am Shizuka Hasegawa-Nakai. You're right, Hasegawa was my husband's family name, but I kept my old family name in honor to my sister. I hadn't seen her since I was a teenager and well...now I won't anymore"

"So your sister was in that bunker?" Koshimizu prudently didn't mention anything about Volkos causing her death in any way.

"She was. I think you all may remember her. She used to go in public by the name of Ginchiyo"

"Ginchiyo? Wasn't her that indie filmmaker?" Sugita'e eyes sparkled with admiration "I loved her work!"

"'Ginchiyo' was a pseudonym we both used...at least until she betrayed me. I ran away from home, not wanting to see her again, and I admit I hated her for several years. It wasn't until a few months ago that I got tired of that and decided to try to find her. But that was after the world ended, so I joined the Future Foundation because I thought I could find her with their help.

I met Hasegawa-kun in there, and no, I didn't care that wasn't his real name. Being married helped cement his identity, after all. But I didn't manage to find her because the division I was in wasn't in this city. I was at the North, near Towa City. I don't know if you have heard of that place...I returned here and...I got the news of my sister's death. And not only that, Heiji was being blamed as the one who caused it all.

I didn't believe that not even for one second. I did know about Heiji's work, how he was a Diavolos Avante Main Board member, so I suspected they were the real culprits, having gotten rid of Heiji to hide something" at that point Shizuka laughed without any mirth "I didn't expect getting locked in this game thing. But today I finally found out what I wanted to find: that file. It was for me like a confirmation of what I believed. The file AND this mutual killing game proved it, Diavolos Avante had done it. Diavolos Avante killed them.

There was nothing for me to do other than...getting out of here and plan for a way to dismantle the Main Board. And since the only way was to kill...why not to kill people who undoubtedly had caused suffering to other people? How many people have you lot killed, causing grief to others?"

"I don't think it's fair we have to pay for other people's actions" Koshimizu said calmly, although judging by the way his hands shook he was restraining himself from doing anything harsh "We're not the Main Board"

"Somebody had to pay for what they did. You all support them"

"Besides the file was no proof of their involvement, from what I see"

"It's not that simple! Do you think they're going to admit anywhere they killed Heiji?!" Shizuka stood up and confronted Monobear. The bear didn't seem particularly concerned about the courier's defiant stare, scratching his head as if it was merely a mildly puzzling thing to see "You killed him! You're defacing his memory! Am I right or not?"

The bear's eye glowed and Mitsuhiko could see he was getting ready to hurt, his claws almost unsheathed. He was expecting Shizuka to try to attack him "...I have nothing to say"

Shizuka didn't want anything else then strangling whoever was behind the bear's voice. She had settled on killing everybody who was alive sans the culprit and then go away to plan something against the Main Board, but now that her plan was discovered...she could only hope these commanders wouldn't be able to find out the real culprit. Gritting her teeth she sat again, leaving her cap on the table. Some of the commanders seemed betrayed by her, especially Sasuga. Sugita grabbed his hand to calm him down. "You revealed what I wanted to hide, Hikari-kun. What's next?"

"Hmmmm..." Mitsuhiko thought for a moment "Well the culprit is the mole and knew you were using hemlock. We could start working from there"

"But there's something I don't get: how did Tan...Hasegawa-san expect to get out of here if she wasn't the culprit? Accomplices don't escape" Sugita asked.

"That's easy. You see, there's something Hasegawa-san has that nobody else has, and while it's not guaranteed maybe it would work:"

* * *

_Her mail_

_Her profession_

_Her past_

_Her identity_

* * *

**_Her identity_ **

* * *

"This is Shizuka Hasegawa-Nakai...and she is not a commander. As it was said earlier: she's an outsider. Even if she wins she wouldn't be eligible. I think that the culprit and her made a deal based on that. The culprit wins the spot in the Main Board which I suppose would mean having enough power to save somebody who didn't have anything to do with DeeEy. It was possible it wouldn't work but...what else could she try?"

"...I think I understand it"

"So, as I was saying, the culprit knew she was using hemlock. What would the culprit do, then?"

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

Teapot / Circular Saw / Chemistry Laboratory / Fukuyama's Testimony / Blood on the Hand

* * *

KOBAYASHI: ...not...nk...?

SUGITA: I think he said **_'_** ** _not drink the tea_** ** _'_**

KOSHIMIZU: That'd be the obvious choice

KOSHIMIZU: And since Monobear's body announcement...

KOSHIMIZU: ...narrowed it even further...

KOSHIMIZU: Hasegawa-san and Mimori-san

SHIZUKA: ... ** _it was me_**.

MIMORI: **_It wasn_** ** _'_** ** _t me._**

SUGITA: The culprit could **_pretend to be poisoned_**. But otherwise...

SUGITA: ...Mimori-san is the culprit by process of elimination

SASUGA: *gestures*

SUGITA: I think he's trying to suggest...

SUGITA: ...that the culprit **_drank the tea._**

KOSHIMIZU: That's impossible.

* * *

Mitsuhiko's eyes widened. _That_ _'_ _s it! That_ _'_ _s the weak point I was looking for!_ He had finally caught a glimpse of the truth; he knew who the culprit was. Now what remained was to make everybody else notice it. "I didn't think it before but now I see...that's how it was. That's the culprit's trick!" Hasegawa's poisoning was going to be the culprit's downfall, if Mitsuhiko was right "Look, it'd be very easy for the culprit to be "poisoned". All they had to do is take that teapot, serve a cup for themselves and pretend to have the symptoms"

"That'd need the culprit to know about hemlock poisoning" Mimori flicked a ball of paper towards Koshimizu.

"Not really. I know who the culprit is and...I see it now. Hasegawa-san and they planned this very carefully. Let's start with a suggestion: what'd be the biggest danger for the culprit if they were faking the symptoms?"

"Being caught faking them, of course" Sugita replied.

"Not necessarily. If the culprit is able to pretend flawlessly then that wouldn't be a problem. No, the biggest danger would be to actually commit the murder. Each person has a caretaker, right? Hasegawa-san was in charge of two people: Mitsuishi-kun and Amy"

Kobayashi's head rolled on the table, looking at Mitsuhiko without any energy. "...aaaaaaat?"

"Don't fret, Amy, I'm not accusing you" the hunter clarified and the illusionist relaxed "Hasegawa-san dealt with the victim, dragging him into the workshop. The culprit, on the other hand, had to deal with their caretaker. And since the culprit is the mole who better help for that task than Monobear himself?"

Monobear didn't say anything to that; Mitsuhiko continued "The mole relied on Monobear to bait the caretaker away of them. It was said several times already, didn't it?" the hunter said that, expecting Mimori to back him up, but she didn't say anything. She looked away, most likely guilty for having been led away.

"I see where you're going" Koshimizu reached to the side, placing his hand on the culprit's shoulder, who in that moment was languidly holding their head between their arms and on the table. Until that point it was just them looking like they were so sleepy they couldn't stay awake, but now that suspicion was starting to pour on them it was more as if they didn't want to be seen.

"Finally, there's one last clue that settles the culprit's guilt. Thank you for the announcements, Monobear" Mitsuhiko grinned "Your stupid rules have ended betraying your ally. The culprit found the body and there was only one "supposedly sick" commander in the workshop in that moment"

Koshimizu took it as his cue to yank from Fukuyama's shoulder, making him sit up. He still had the Monobear mask, so nobody could see his expression, but his body language indicated he had been bracing himself for this for a while. But when everybody had their eyes on him he made sure to hide those hints, settling for a limp posture. "Of course. I knew it as soon as you started talking about pretending to be sick. Who else better for that than an actor?" Sugita commented.

Feeling confident about his reasoning Mitsuhiko turned to Hasegawa. The courier was biting her lip, sweating nervously. "Anything to say, Hasegawa-san?"

"Oh, um...y-you can't prove he's pretending to be sick. You can't blame him"

"But the body announcement practically shows he's the culprit!" Sugita exclaimed "That proves it"

"You're all supposing the culprit was pretending to be sick"

"The only other option would be Mimori-san, then, and that'd make Fukuyama-kun's testimony true. He says he didn't see anybody enter"

"In hindsight everything he said was pretty sketchy when it was compared to Hasegawa-san's testimony" Koshimizu mulled.

"She entered through the window!" Hasegawa argued "After I left she entered through the window and created the closed room, leaving through the window again"

"That's impossible" the hunter countered "It's impossible for the culprit to have closed the window from the outside. It can be locked only from the inside"

"Besides you have been trying to protect the culprit all this time. Did you think we'd believe you're suddenly turning against her?" Sugita added "At the start you tried to deflect our suspicions to her but when that didn't work you decided confusing us would be better. We're not falling for anything else anymore"

_I_ _'_ _m completely confident Fukuyama-kun is the culprit AND the mole. There_ _'_ _s still the matter of how he knew how to work with the laboratory equipment but that doesn_ _'_ _t matter right now._

_We already pinpointed who did it. Now we have to reveal HOW he did it. How he created the closed room. Luckily from now on it_ _'_ _s all very easy. I already saw through his tricks._

_Let_ _'_ _s place the final nail in his coffin._


	23. Chapter 3: Trying to Exorcise Demons - Trial III

The last problem to solve was the closed room. Once Mitsuhiko managed to crack that in a way everybody understood then Fukuyama could be voted as the culprit. Everything was relying on that. Otherwise the hunter would be stuck. There was no way to prove Fukuyama was only pretending to be poisoned, or that he was the mole.

"Mimori-san, did you notice anything weird about how Fukuyama-kun was behaving?" Koshimizu asked, but the journalist didn't seem sure of her answer:

"I did think he was dying. I don't know if he was faking it or not, he's an actor. He could fool me"

"He arranged Monobear to distract you so he could go with Hasegawa-san into the workshop" Sugita asserted "But how did he gets out of the workshop?"

"He just walked away with Hasegawa-san"

"No. One of them must have stayed inside and I have good reasons to believe it was the one to make the final blow: Fukuyama-kun" Mitsuhiko clarified, but this clarification got Hasegawa's attention. A smile spread on her face for a moment before she hid it.

"Is that so? If you're all planning to blame Fukuyama-kun for the crime then consider this" all heads turned towards her, Fukuyama's included, although he was very subtle "Which one of us stayed behind to create the closed room?"

"He, of course" Sugita answered.

"And why had it to be him?"

"Because his testimony said..." Sugita's eyes widened, realizing what she was saying "...oh. I..."

"What I'm saying is that you have no proof Fukuyama-kun was faking anything. I saw him before I left him in Mimori-san's care, his poisoning was true.

"But he must have been the culprit! It's the only way this crime could have happened"

"Unless we're getting this wrong. Hasegawa-san is the culprit while Fukuyama-kun is the accomplice" Mimori suggested "Fukuyama-kun's role as an accomplice was to lie, make a false testimony to mislead us"

"Then how did the crime happen?" Mitsuhiko asked. To be fair, Mimori was raising a valid point. He was starting to doubt himself on that and to make everything worse Mitsuishi's last moments didn't help at all. It was clear for the hunter that Mitsuishi had written a name with his blood, but it had been erased. Maybe it was the culprit. Maybe it was Mitsuishi-kun himself. He couldn't know.

"A good journalist listens to the facts and gets to conclusions. I said 'facts', not 'speculation'" Mimori said with a great deal with pride. It was obvious she was proud of her intelligence and wasn't afraid of showing it "This is what happened:

* * *

**_Climax Inference?_ **

_"_ _Hasegawa-san dragged Mitsuishi-kun into the workshop and stabbed him, maybe thinking that_ _'_ _d be enough to kill him. Then, while she was arranging the closed room, Mitsuishi-kun tried to leave the killer_ _'_ _s name with his own blood. But Hasegawa-san noticed what the victim was doing, so she took the saw and cut his neck. She erased the name with Mitsuishi-kun_ _'_ _s hand and continued the creation of the closed room._

_A heavy table placed against the door blocked it, making it impossible to go out through there. The window was the only way. Hasegawa-san jumped from the window onto the ground and returned into the headquarters, going to the Lounge where Fukuyama-kun was resting alone. There she convinced him in one way or another to be her accomplice. They created the testimony he_ _'_ _d give and when I returned from Monobear_ _'_ _s distraction we discovered the body_ _"_

* * *

Mimori finished her speech showing everybody what was written in her notepad: everything she had said, written just a few moments ago. "Those are my conclusions. Am I great or what?"

"It makes sense but...I'm not very convinced...?" Sugita said slowly. That was the dilemma: Hasegawa had spent most of the trial trying to confuse them. Was that made so they wouldn't vote for her? Mimori had presented a convincing argument, a theory that placed Hasegawa as the culprit and Fukuyama as the accomplice. It was worthy of consideration, at least.

"That could cover all the holes in the case" Koshimizu mused "What do you think, Hikari-kun?"

How considerate of them to ask for Mitsuhiko's opinion. They all knew that he could find flaws in theories and help to catch the culprits. He had done it twice, already. "There's a glaring mistake here" _There really is, but once I point it Mimori-san will fix it easily. I must find a way to progress from here...point everything decisively towards Fukuyama-kun. Or...could I be wrong? Was it really Hasegawa-san?_

_I need to rethink everything about the scene, about the circumstances of the murder. There must be something, some detail, something that shows which one of them is the culprit!_ "Mimori-san, please repeat this part"

* * *

First paragraph

Second paragraph

* * *

**Second paragraph**

* * *

"Repeat the second paragraph. That's where your mistake is"

"Okay, I'll comply, but don't expect me to patiently repeat it a thousand times. Go to the point as soon as possible, alright?" Mimori said tiredly. She was...reticent?

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

Laboratory Rats / Whittling Knife / The Mud Outside / Monobear File #3 / Blood on the Hand

* * *

MIMORI: The table was all needed to **make it impossible to enter**

MIMORI: **The window** was the only exit

MIMORI: Hasegawa-san **jumped from there to the ground**

MIMORI: She returned to the building and **went to the Lounge**

MIMORI: **She convinced Fukuyama-kun** to be her accomplice

MIMORI: **They forged the testimony** he'd tell...

MIMORI: ...and when I returned **we discovered the body**

MIMORI: Now, pray tell, what's that flaw in my argument?

* * *

"Mimori-san, your journalism skills need a lot of polishing. You don't check all the facts you need to get to a correct conclusion" Mitsuhiko said bluntly. Mimori took great offense to that affirmation, opening her mouth to argue back, but before she could do it Mitsuhiko made a gesture for her to stay silent "Did you look outside to the state of the courtyard?"

"N-No, I didn't have a reason to do that"

"That's where you failed. If you had opened the window and looked through it you would have noticed it had rained for a while. The ground was muddy; anybody stepping out there would leave footprints"

"I see where you're going" Sugita said "There weren't any footprints, were they?"

"No footprints at all. The culprit didn't jump from the window to the ground" the hunter confirmed. It was time to break the closed room. The door wasn't the path the culprit used to escape; obviously it was the window, but... "I'm not saying the window wasn't the exit. What I'm saying is that what Mimori-san supposed was wrong.

"The culprit didn't fly away, if that's what you're insinuating" Mimori said angrily, still annoyed by having her skills questioned.

"No. The culprit used an object to escape the closed room through the window"

* * *

Monobear File #3

Circular Saw

Erased Message

Blood on the Hand

Table

Window

The Mud Outside

Sleeping Bag

Whittling Knife

Caretakers Arrangement

Fukuyama ' s Testimony

Chemistry Laboratory

Hemlock

Teapot

File About Kaiji Kudo/Heiji Hasegawa

Laboratory Rats

Dismantled Solar System

* * *

**Dismantled Solar System**

* * *

"On the Third Floor there's the Astronomy Laboratory. It's a balcony where students used to watch the stars and planets, I suppose, but what matters here is the location of that place and an object I found there" Mitsuhiko beckoned Lily, who approached. After giving her a series of instructions Lily projected a hologram of the outside walls of the Headquarters "If you look at this you'll notice that the balcony with the Astronomy Laboratory is directly on top of the Carpentry Workshop Mitsuishi-kun was found in. That's how the culprit escaped, he got onto the Astronomy Laboratory with the help of this" In the projection a faceless representation of a person extended some cable, tying it to the balcony and letting it hang in front of the window to the Carpentry Workshop. "This cable is from one of the solar system models that hang over the Astronomy Laboratory. The culprit destroyed it and used the cable to create the escape route"

"So, the culprit opened the window and jumped onto the cable, climbing onto the balcony" Koshimizu concluded correctly "It makes sense"

"No it doesn't" Hasegawa had finally decided to take part of the trial again "Are you completely sure the window was the way out?"

"Completely sure. It wasn't through the door, if that's what you're trying to say" Mitsuhiko said dryly but Hasegawa wasn't intimidated by his attitude.

"I think earlier during this trial you had said the window was locked. And not only that, you said it was impossible to lock from the inside. If the culprit escaped through the window and the table near the door made it impossible to open then how did the culprit lock the window?"

"With an accomplice, I suppose" Mimori said-

"No, that isn't how this works. There was only one person inside the workshop because once the closed room was created nobody could escape from it. So tell us, Hikari-kun, how was the window locked?"

_Oh...she_ _'_ _s right. How did..._ And that's when Mitsuhiko realized it. He had finally found the weak point of the culprit's plans. One single action the culprit made was strong evidence against him. Or, at the very least, would be enough for everybody to vote for Fukuyama-kun. "That can be easily answered. This is the core of the whole closed room case and not only that: it'll also show us without any doubt who the culprit is.

This is how the window was locked!"

* * *

Using a fishing line

It locks itself automatically

It was never locked

It was locked from the outside

* * *

**It was never locked**

* * *

"The reason the closed room seems impossible is because the table can't be placed against the door from the outside _and_ because the window can't be locked from the outside. So, if there's no way for that to happen then maybe we should ask ourselves:

Was the window locked in the first place?"

"You said it was locked!" Hasegawa argued. Mitsuhiko nodded, admitting his past words.

"Yeah, I said it was locked. I found it locked but let's say this: the lock wasn't set in the moment we think. It was actually locked..."

* * *

Before the murder

During the murder

In the creation of the closed room

When the body was found

* * *

**When the body was found**

* * *

"...it was locked when the body was found. The culprit took the chance to go to the window to lock it, completing the illusion! That was it"

"Why do you think that?" Sugita inquired.

"Because I have remembered something: when the body was found there was one person who went to the window. That person locked it and guess who it was?" Mitsuhiko looked at Fukuyama, who was fumbling with his mask, paying full attention to what was happening "Fukuyama-kun. You dragged yourself there and when you pretended to have problems to stand up you leaned on the window. That's when you locked it"

"…no…" Fukuyama said quietly but everybody ignored him because Hasegawa immediately jumped into his defense.

"Wait a second! I-I have something to say" she was sweating, not sure of what she was going to say. It either was going to destroy Mitsuhiko's argument or it would make pretty clear she wasn't the culprit, but what else could she do? "I confess, I sent Fukuyama-kun inside to close the window"

"Are you trying to say you sent a very sick person to drag himself on the floor in middle of a crime scene to lock the window?" Mitsuhiko asked slowly, showing how ridiculous that sounded "It would have been much easier for you to lock it yourself"

"But that would bring suspicion on myself!"

"Indeed it would" the hunter conceded "But the fact Fukuyama-kun closed the window brings to mind something very important, something that shows which of you stayed inside the workshop to create the closed room:

How did he know the window was unlocked?"

"Bec-Because I told him, of course!" Hasegawa shouted but Mitsuhiko continued without being intimidated by her voice.

"As I said, it's hard to believe that you'd make Fukuyama-kun do that, it would have been much easier for him to stay on the Lounge couch while you dealt with that" it was the time. The time to give the final strike "I'll now tell you why Fukuyama-kun felt the need to drag himself to lock the window:

Because he was the only one who knew the window was left unlocked! And only the person who created the closed room could have known it. You said it yourself; only one person was inside at that moment. And because Fukuyama-kun HAD to finish the illusion of the closed room…he was caught.

If he had stayed aside while you, me and Mimori-san found the body nobody would have ever suspected him. The only reason he was suspicious is because Monobear's body announcement. It doesn't mean we wouldn't have caught him but we at least would have trouble finding out he did it"

"You got so many things wrong…" Hasegawa said weakly. She was finished, not being able to counter what Mitsuhiko had said. He knew that if he stopped now maybe the courier would find a rebuttal so it was time to summarize the crime and push for a vote. _Let_ _'_ _s end this trial._

* * *

**Climax Inference**

* * *

_This crime was done by two people. The culprit and the accomplice. But how did they agree to help each other to commit this murder? It all started when the accomplice decided they had spent enough time in this building. They had obtained what they came to search for, but they couldn't escape unless they murdered somebody. The method they chose was poisoning us with hemlock, and the vehicle they choose was tea for the breakfast._

_But when they were extracting the poison from the hemlock leaves they got caught by the would-be-culprit. What they agreed is unknown, but it's likely they agreed to commit two different murders so both could win the contest, cooperating with each other to achieve them. Between the two of them they extracted the hemlock, the accomplice pouring it into the teapot and leaving it ready for everybody to drink it._

_Seven people drank the poisoned tea and the culprit took the chance to pretend to be poisoned to blend with the rest but the plan didn't go like expected: nobody died from the poison, possibly due to a mistake during the extraction, maybe a substance in the tea diminished the effect of the hemlock or maybe our first aid actions saved them. We won't know why._

_But the failure of a murder to happen didn't break the agreement; it was the culprit's turn to start their plan. The accomplice dragged Mitsuishi into the workshop, where both of them entered. The accomplice stabbed Mitsuishi to weaken him. We don't know what happened, exactly, but at some point Mitsuishi wrote a name with his blood. Then the culprit took the saw and killed Mitsuishi. We have no way to know which name was written or who erased it._

_Once Mitsuishi was dead the accomplice exited the room, leaving the culprit inside to set the closed room. The culprit placed the table against the door, blocking it, and opened the window to escape the workshop. From the balcony in the third floor a cable was hanging, which would serve as the way to escape. The culprit jumped from the window onto the cable, climbing until they got to the balcony, and ran to the Lounge to get in position._

_The murder had been committed but there was one detail left: make the closed room complete. With Mimori and me they forced the door open, finding the body, and while I was distracted by the corpse the culprit went to the window, locking it and completing the illusion._

_But the circumstances broke the plan, bringing attention to the culprit. And that's what got us here. You, Kumakichi Fukuyama, and you, Shizuka Hasegawa, are the culprit and accomplice of this murder!_

* * *

Once Mitsuhiko finished his retelling of the murder he noticed he had everybody's attention. Even the sick commanders were looking at him, although with varying degrees of lucidity. "That all makes sense. That must be how it happened..." Sugita said, processing the whole argument.

"I agree. That answers most questions and I'm willing to take the chance" Koshimizu supported "Shall we call for a vote now?"

"No!" Hasegawa tried to exclaim but it sounded pretty tired. Nobody listened to her.

"Let's do it. Monobear! We're going to vote now" Mitsuhiko ordered. Monobear straightened up- His tone showed there was an underlying layer of enjoyment in his announcement.

"And the voting phase shall happen now! Be ready to say who you vote for, everybody!" Of course the commanders who were healthy enough to talk clearly said Fukuyama's name, Hasegawa being the only exception. Among those that were poisoned most pointed at Fukuyama. Fukuyama indicated he wanted to vote for Hasegawa and Yurie and Romi were the only ones unable to vote. Monobear, always graceful, laughed and said that counted as a vote for themselves. "Good thing four votes weren't enough to stop the general opinion because it's correct! The person who was responsible for mutilating Mitsuishi-kun's neck was Kumakichi Fukuyama-kun!"

"And that is all I needed to hear" Mitsuhiko said, hiding the relief he felt. He hadn't been wrong. He knew that, with some time, Hasegawa could have found an argument to turn everything around. The rushed vote worked its purpose; it ended the trial before anything else happened. It was a gamble but it paid off.

"So Fukuyama-kun was never poisoned" Sugita glared at the masked commander "Will we get an explanation now?"

Fukuyama sighed and finally took off the mask, throwing it aside. The face under the mask was... forgettable. Nobody would be able to remember it later. Fukuyama's expression was also carefully neutral when he finally spoke. "Well I suppose it's fair. I'm a reasonable man, after all"

"Okay, first things first: are you the mole?"

Then it was shown why Fukuyama had entered to Delacroix known as an outstanding actor. His face seemed to gain shadows, turning sinister, and his eyes showed an intense mix of emotions. He hadn't even changed his expression noticeably; it was a gift that didn't rely on that. "I am. I'm helping the people behind this game"

"The ones behind Monobear or the ones behind Lily?"

"Monobear. I was the one who brought Lily to their attention, after all"

"What do you mean?" Mitsuhiko asked while Mimori took notes. Fukuyama's face relaxed, now he seemed wistful for the past.

"I found the blueprints in the Physics Laboratory. It had no name and at the time I didn't know what its creator was planning to do, but when I received that letter I knew I should do something about this. So I contacted some...friends I have. They're the ones who kidnapped the Main Board"

"And why are they doing that?"

"Because of what this bear represents, of course" Fukuyama put his mask on again "SHSL Despair. Who else would make a mutual killing game?"

"Lily and her creator, of course" Sugita answered. Fukuyama laughed softly, doing his best imitation of Monobear's laugh.

"Upupu...do you really believe that? Come on! It's as plain as day that they never intended anybody to die! In fact, we knew that and took advantage of it. If Lily and her friends hadn't called you all here the mutual killing game wouldn't have happened!"

"It can't be out fault!" Lily shouted but this time Monobear was the one to reply.

"It is. This game was made with two objectives: find a replacement for Volkos and to make your creators despair. They'll be forced to see how the people they tried to save are killing each other in front of their own eyes. They'll experience betrayal when that same people are the ones murdering them. You were all _idiots_ for thinking you could execute such a bad plan in the Headquarters and this is your reward"

Lily's fists were making some rather odd sounds, like the robot girl's own strength was crushing her own laser weapons. "That's it! The truce is over"

"Bring it on!" Monobear challenged, ready to attack Lily after she made the first move, but she didn't attack him. She instead left the Meeting Room with a huff, going to who knew where. Monobear seemed disappointed there was no physical confrontation.

"Ooooh...and here I was ready to tear her head off already. Nobody thinks of the poor, poor bear"

"Fukuyama-kun, how much do you know about chemistry?" Koshimizu asked. That had been the mole's main contribution to the problems in the Headquarters.

"Hm" Fukuyama shrugged "Not much. I followed the instructions from one of my bosses. That's it"

"Ah"

"Why did you ask for Hasegawa-san's help? Wouldn't it have been easier to do a plan alone by yourself?" Mitsuhiko inquired.

At this point Fukuyama once again took off the mask, this time his face showed a profound sadness. "I...felt pity for her. She's a third party in this mess; she didn't deserve to be here. I thought that, if there were two murders, at least one of us would get away with this. We'd try to save each other if possible. We both had one thing in common: we're here because we're dealing with the grief of losing people close to us. She's my peer on that regard"

"What do you mean?"

"I didn't help my bosses just for shits and giggles, you know"

"Did all happen like Hikari-kun described it?" Mimori asked.

"Mostly, yes. Just so you know, Mitsuishi-kun had written 'Tanaka', but when I grabbed the saw he blurred it out. He noticed I was going to be the one to kill him, after all. A shame he did. A name written in blood would have turned things on Hasegawa-san and me's favor..."

That was all the questions everybody had for Fukuyama. Hasegawa, who had stayed silent while Fukuyama confessed everything he was asked, finally said something. "Kuma-kun, I'm sorry for failing. I tried very hard to save you, I did..."

"I know. You and my friend did well. It's good to know that at least I had somebody to trust even if it was in the last hours of my life" Fukuyama smiled sadly, ignoring everybody else "It was a pleasure working with you on these plans. Best of luck for you"

"Your...friend?" Mitsuhiko asked warily but Fukuyama simply shrugged, looking away. He took his mask and stood with Monobear.

"I failed. Twice. I suppose I won't get away with that, right?"

"Rules are rules. It's time for the execution!" Just like he had done in the last two trials Monobear left the Meeting Room with the culprit. A few minutes later the TV screen descended from the ceiling, turning on to show the Physics Laboratory.

* * *

** Becoming the Mask **

Fukuyama had put his mask on and was staring at the ceiling where an odd contraption hanged. It seemed like the legs of many metallic spiders, each of them holding a tool or a piece of black and white felt. When the blueprints of a Monobear appeared on the wall it was obvious for anybody what the execution was going to be: the affirmation of Fukuyama's role as the mole.

The machine descended and took off Fukuyama's mask. Now he was resigned and with his eyes closed, waiting for his death to come. The machine placed pieces of felt on Fukuyama's body while, near the ceiling, Monobear's head was being built with the mask as part of it. The felt for the body was tightened, Fukuyama started to turn blue. The pressure was making it very difficult to breathe but he didn't die yet.

Claws were inserted in the hands; blood trickled slowly from several points of his body. The pressure got so strong Fukuyama had to crouch, trying to not to scream in pain. Above him the head was already finished and was lowered onto Fukuyama, placing it perfectly over his.

The machine compressed the felt and the head, slowly crushing Fukuyama. Welding tools applied heat onto the junctures, making them bond together. The compression continued until the new Monobear plush was finished. Fukuyama's body was crushed, serving as no more than filling for the new Monobear. Thankfully nobody could see the gore inside it, the only remains there were from the actor was the blood that stained the felt in several places.

* * *

"...wow. That was..." Mimori was crushing her notepad between her fingers, outraged "...completely uncalled for! He didn't deserve to suffer like that!"

"He was brave. He could have been a great asset if he hadn't been on the wrong side" Sugita mused. The poisoned commanders had watched too, all of them understanding what had happened. After a couple minutes of sitting around in silence Koshimizu stood up, leaning heavily against the table.

"It's still early. After a good night of rest most of us should be in condition to discuss what we must do next. A little help to carry us all to our rooms would be nice"

"The Main Board hostages should be in the new area!" Sugita remembered "This is almost over"

"That's true but...I don't think it'd be so easy. I'm sure those bastards still have ways to screw us over. Also, Hasegawa-san" the courier had stayed still, not moving from the seat "It's unfair to blame all of us for something none of us had any relation with. Hikari-kun will take you to your cell"

Hasegawa nodded, willing to be taken there but the hunter wasn't going to do that. "I won't. Locking her won't lead to anything worthwhile. If we're going to do something to save ourselves we'll need all the help we can get"

"We can't trust her, you moron. I bet tonight she'll cut our throats like his pal did to Mitsuishi-kun"

"Maybe that's true but I insist: it's no time to go around locking people. Let her be" Mitsuhiko maybe was saying that because he had already experienced how being in a cell was like. And in a way he felt incredibly uncomfortably by something:

Hasegawa had poisoned Yurie. Yurie had almost died, she had been extremely sick for several hours. She suffered and had no way to express her pain. Then why wasn't he clamoring for Hasegawa to pay in some way? Why was he asking to let her go?

...that is what he would have done mere days ago, demand Hasegawa suffered. Did something change in him, or between Yurie and him? He didn't understand what was going on with him!

Koshimizu glared at him for a moment before shrugging "Whatever. If anything happens I'm holding you responsible for that" The sick commanders were taken to their rooms. Mitsuhiko decided to spend the night in Yurie's room in case she needed anything. Of all the commanders it seemed she was the one affected the most by the hemlock, her legs were still paralyzed. She ws profoundly asleep. Mitsuhiko hoped she'd be better in the morning.

He wanted to go to the Fourth Floor, see what was in there. See if there was anything about the Main Board or where they were locked. He still suspected there was something weird going on and this was the chance to find out for sure, but he really didn't want to leave Yurie alone.

There was also the matter about the Physics Laboratory. Fukuyama had been killed there; maybe there'd be something useful to see in there. _Somebody else better explore up there or I_ _'_ _ll scream_ he thought, bringing his sleeping back into Yurie's room.

It had been a tiring day. He just wanted it to end.

-ooooo-

Hasegawa gripped the bag of bricks she had brought into the Headquarters when she entered into the Meeting Room for the first time. Lily was to her side. They were in the bedroom of one of the commanders, the talk was necessary due to Hasegawa's attempt to kill everybody. Her facade as a simple courier was as good as gone. "I admit I regret having done it but it's not for the reasons you think. It's not that I think they all deserve to live; it's that...I lost sight of what I came here for. I'll still help you, if you want my help" The person she was talking with shook their head. The false courier frowned, understanding "I see. Yes, I thought you wouldn't want me involved after what I did. But can I at least ask what you plan to do now? We lost one partner already, Lily and you won't be enough to succeed. What will you do?"

Apparently telling Hasegawa that was something the commander thought was fine. Hasegawa approached closely to listen despite their raspy voice. It took a while before she was able to interpret their grunting. "Abort? So this is where it ends, we're done. We failed. So now what?" The answer to that question was one single word, nothing else needed to be said.

Escape.

-ooooo-

The Second Accomplice was nervously pacing from one side to another of the room. Now that this floor was available to everybody the risk of being seen was way too big for their comfort. And not only that, the First Accomplice had been executed just a couple hours ago. They did try to support Fukuyama but there was nothing they could do at the end.

And to be frank they were afraid of any retaliation the Main Board could have. They were currently in the process of moving their stuff to another place: the Basement. The Second Accomplice hated that place for what it had. Not only Veritas was shackled in there, in the recent days a new event had been happening in there. They really didn't want to have to go to the Basement.

"You all knew he'd fail, didn't you? Fukuyama-kun tried his best but it wasn't enough. I did what I could!" they were shouting.

"We saw and hear what happened in the trial, we know what you did and what you didn't do" Valkyrie said "Why are you so antsy? Are you hiding something?"

"Definitely not! But I want you to say it, say I won't have to kill anybody"

"It's not necessary for now. In fact, we don't need you for the next couple days. Afterwards...you'll have to follow our instructions, no matter what they are" Wolfenmaus said, threateningly. Valkyrie and Vieiras were practically unrecognizable by now. Perhaps it was a side effect of the Enoshima AI prototype in their brains. Maybe the machine currently hidden in the Sealed Wing in the Third Floor had done a mistake when it implanted the AI in their brains. Nobody had any way to know why but the effect was clear: Valkyrie and Vieiras were starting to lose their identities. All they had in mind was their role as the SHSL Despair leader and founder.

And soon Wolfenmaus would follow them in that path. And once he did...everything would be irreversibly hopeless for Veritas. Veritas' life would continue existing as long as at least one Main Board member stayed lucid. Veritas' days were almost over.

"I understand. Thank you" the Second Accomplice said, bowing their head. The reason they had accepted a role as an accomplice was precisely to save Veritas and time was running out. They knew where he was but they couldn't find any of the keys needed to open the Basement door and free Veritas.

Was all hopeless for them? They were starting to think that.


	24. Intermission: Downwards Spiral II

"Mitsu-chaaaaan, when are you going to tell meeeeee?" Yurie pouted, practically rubbing herself on Hikaru's arm.

They were sitting in a park near Hope's Peak. Two years had passed since Yurie and he had met thanks to Sugita and during that time they had entered a romantic relationship. There were five months left before the school year ended but Hikaru was fed up. The scientists, the classmates, the oppressive atmosphere he felt around him while he was in Hope's Peak. All that kept stressing him; there were rare times when he was in good mood.

All he wanted was a moment to take a deep breath but he felt like he couldn't even do that. Yurie of course had noticed Hikaru was behaving strangely and had talked to him about that. But lately that weird behavior had changed. Now he seemed more...depressed, more anxious. Yurie was never the most considerate person in the world but even she was starting to be worried about him. "You won't ever leave me alone, will you?" Hikaru said tiredly.

"Tell me. Maybe I can help"

"You can't. It's a matter of being stoic, I think. Don't worry about it"

"If you don't tell me right now you won't like what I'll do" Yurie threatened. She used to do that when Hikaru was reticent about something and although she always said he wouldn't like it at the end it was always something harmless and kind of fun. But something in her voice showed this was different than all those times. The hunter wringed their hands, deciding to say it.

"Okay, I'm telling! It's that I'm tired of being in Hope's Peak. Homework, be analyzed, experiments, presentations, I don't have a moment to breath. Somebody in Hope's Peak has a vendetta against me or something. Nobody else has as much trouble as me" Yurie sighed. Hikaru used to rave against Hope's Peak at least once a week.

"Yeah, poor you"

"But I can't just go away. I wouldn't have a place to go, being the SHSL Hunter is my only purpose in life right now! I wish I had an option on what to do with my life right now"

"For a moment I thought it was something else" Yurie kind of regretted having asked. What he was saying was nothing new, but maybe... "How would you react if I told you there was maybe something else you could do?"

"What do you mean?" The hunter was genuinely curious about that. Could Yurie have the answers to all his problems?

"Don't ask me how but I know somebody that needs...help with something. It's not exactly lawful, though"

That wasn't what Hikaru expected. "Are you offering me something that breaks the law? Really?" But he hadn't outright dismissed the idea.

"Well it's an option. I understand if you don't take it" then Yurie said, with a very fake carefree tone "You'll have to endure more time in Hope's Peak, what a shame. Hey, there's this new restaurant across the city! Want to check it?"

"Wait, what did you say?"

"There's this new restaurant..."

"Not that! Look, I'm not rejecting your suggestion, it's just that I didn't think you'd offer such a thing" Yurie didn't seem the kind of person to have...criminal connections. She was just a teenager, after all!

"I'm not a criminal, if that's what you're wondering. She's just like an older sister to me. We have been friends for a long time and she has gone through some...unsavory things in her life"

"I'm not going to judge her, if that's what's worrying you" They stood up and started to walk away, talking mutedly as if they feared anybody listening to their words.

"The thing is that she's looking for some help. She has some...business to do here in Japan, more concretely in the Kyoto area. You could see if she wants to accept your help"

"What kind of business is she interested in?"

Yurie's mouth formed a thin line for a moment "...I don't know the full details but...she may need your hunting skills, your experience with guns, all that. Know what I mean?"

That was pretty telling. Hikaru knew what she meant but continued prodding "...explain further, please"

"...say, some people say humans are no more than big dumb animals. There are people who consider human lives the biggest hunting trophy there is. She isn't like that people; she doesn't get anybody killed for fun. It's all people that are getting in the way of her plans and businesses. It'd be an honor to work with her"

"And are you working with her?"

Yurie hesitated before replying. "...yes. I'm a recruiter. I search for people that have abilities that would be useful for us. I'm a hacker studying in Delacroix's school; I definitely have access to the information of useful people"

Hikaru felt something wriggling in his chest. For a moment he wanted to run away and not ask, but he needed to know "You...you're not with me because you're trying to recruit me, are you?"

Yurie smiled "If I were intending to recruit you I'd have done it long ago. I'm sorry, Mitsu-chan, but even if as a SHSL Hunter I didn't think you would be good for her businesses. I'm doing you a favor. I could get you an appointment with her, see where it leads"

"Is she here in the city?"

"She is. She often visits Delacroix and that's when we talk. In fact..." the hacker leaned to tell a secret "The Delacroix School is no more than a facade. It was created as a way to make recruitment easier. Isn't it funny? The world exploits people who are good at something.

Delacroix gets them into criminal activities. Hope's Peak has some sort of objective in their plans too, all those studies and tests show it. Being a great hunter may be the worst mistake you ever made"

All that was said with the same smile, turning bitter with each word. They walked in silence, meditating about what they had just discussed.

As hard as it was to admit it Hikaru had to admit...he was interested. It was an option other than Hope's Peak. His parents wouldn't approve and if they had been alive he wouldn't have dared but...they weren't alive now, were they? He was his own boss right now.

A couple days later Yurie let him meet Vittoria Delacroix.


	25. Chapter 4: Hellfire - (Ab)normal Days I

Mitsuhiko awoke with a headache. It had been a short dream but it reminded him of a quite significant moment in his life. To his side was Yurie, clinging to him, which helped him to calm down. It would have been a relatively nice scene if it weren't because they were in a classroom in the Headquarters. The hunter carefully lifted Yurie's arms but the movement woke her up. "Mitsu-chan? Are you okay?" she asked weakly. It looked like she was finally getting better.

"Don't move, Yurie. I'll bring you breakfast" Mitsuhiko said, ignoring his headache. Yurie nodded and laid still. Outside of the bedroom the Headquarters were pretty silent. Maybe it was because by now six people had died and chances were even more would die later. Only ten people remained.

In the cafeteria the clanking in the kitchen got Mitsuhiko's attention. Sugita was in front of the stove, struggling to not to cry. "Kimiko? Is there something wrong?"

"Hi, Hikaru-kun. I'm okay, it's just...the onions"

"That's the oldest excuse in the book. Come on, tell me what's wrong"

"Hikaru-kun, I'm scared. Yesterday, when Sasuga-kun was poisoned, I felt so lost and so...defenseless. We haven't been together for as long as you and Yurie are but I feel he's the world for me. The thought of him being killed by anybody here...it scares me"

Oh, so it was that. Mitsuhiko was never the most empathic person in the world but Sugita was his childhood friend. He felt it was his responsibility to try to show some support "I can't promise he'll be fine but the least you can do is show some strength for him. Show him you're willing to do anything to protect him. And by that I don't mean to tell him you'd kill for him or anything. It's as simple as being with him when he needs it"

"I understand. How is Yurie?"

"She's better, at least she's able to stay conscious and talk. I don't know if her legs have gotten any better, though"

"I checked the rest before coming to make breakfast, everybody is improving. Kishio-sensei made an amazing recovery! She says she'll lead the exploration of the Fourth Floor to liberate the Main Board"

"I don't think that after a whole night we'll still find them up there" the hunter pointed. Sugita smiled as if she knew something he didn't. And she did!

"We thought that as well, that's why Mimori-san stayed in the Fourth Floor the whole night. There's this locked door that may lead to where the Main Board is kept in and she slept near it. Nobody can have gone past her in any direction"

That was nice. Mitsuhiko felt some hope "Excellent. I don't think Yurie will join us into the exploration so I'll stay with her. That won't be a problem, right?"

"It won't. Here, take this to her" Sugita gave Mitsuhiko a bowl of soup "I don't know she'll take kindly to messages from me but I hope she gets better soon"

"Yeah, I don't get why she can't get along with you" Mitsuhiko said as a parting line, taking the bowl to Yurie's room. In there the hacker was against the wall, clawing at it. It seemed like she was trying to stand up. "Yurie?"

"I can't feel my legs. I can't move my legs. I-I think they're paralyzed!" she said, shaking wildly. Mitsuhiko left the bowl on the floor and rushed to help her stand up and carefully tried to step away. Yurie's legs bowed under her weight and if the hunter hadn't been close enough to catch her she'd have crashed against the floor. It was the confirmation they needed, Yurie's legs were paralyzed. Whether it was temporal or permanent remained to be seen.

Yurie was pretty shaken up by her crippled legs. It was quite a while before she calmed down enough to take her soup. "What have I done to deserve this?! Why is this happening to me?!" were some of the questions she shrieked, even getting the attention of other commanders. They opened the door, asking what was going on, but when they saw Mitsuhiko's death stare they closed the door and went away.

Once she calmed down she commented the trial from the day before. "I don't remember anything. What happened?" Mitsuhiko gave her a summary of the events, including how Fukuyama was the mole and how Lily ended a truce with Monobear. "Oh, that truce. Yeah, I knew it wouldn't last long"

"What was up with that truce? I never thought they'd agree a peaceful break" the hunter asked.

"Basically Lily and Monobear fought again. Once again their bodies were destroyed and since none of them could overpower each other they decided they'd focus on whatever they were trying to do with all of us"

"Oh, I see. So, the fourth floor is open now. That's where the Main Board is supposedly imprisoned"

"Will you go with them?" Yurie asked, having finished her soup.

"I'd rather to stay with you. You could need my help"

There was silence for a moment while Yurie mulled something. "Mitsu-chan, I'm not a little girl needing somebody to protect her all the time. Go and help them. I'll be okay"

"Are you sure?"

"Completely sure. Go with them. Besides...I need some time alone. There's a lot I need to think about"

"...well if you say so then I will...go now..." Mitsuhiko slowly went to the door as if he expected Yurie to change her mind, but she didn't. She lay on her sleeping bag, staring at the ceiling, but before Mitsuhiko closed the door she called him.

"Mitsu-chan, when you're done please come here again. There's something we'll need to talk about"

"Okay. I'll see if I can find a wheelchair or something" Mitsuhiko said, noticing Yurie's disgusted face. She really didn't fancy the idea of having to use one of those but it was going to be necessary.

Almost everybody else was in the cafeteria; Yurie and Mimori were the only ones absent. "...if anybody doesn't feel strong enough to go then it's okay, _no hay problema_. You may stay here and...oh. Hikari-kun" Kishio was finally fully embracing her leadership gig, maybe because the Main Board was supposedly in their reach now.

"I wanted to join the party. Is there anything I can do?"

"You'll go explore with the group. Sit over there" Kishio indicated the corner of the cafeteria where later the exploration group gathered. Kobayashi and Sugita were the other two people who were going with him. Koshimizu, once he heard about Yurie's paralysis, offered to check on her, something Mitsuhiko accepted, grateful. Hasegawa was shunned aside and watched over by Sasuga and Kishio. The rest had varied tasks.

The journey to the Fourth Floor was uneventful. Once they got up there they were welcomed by Mimori. "About time soebody came! I was starting to think nobody was interested on getting up here"

"Has anybody entered or left this floor?" Mitsuhiko inquired, looking around. This definitely seemed to be the only entry or exit to the floor.

"Nobody! I'm sure of it; I slept in front of the only locked door around. No changes to report"

"I'll go with Mimori-san to check that door" Kobayashi said, rubbing his throat. Even if he had almost left the poisoning symptoms behind him hestill felt pain and discomfort "I have experience with locks and all that"

"Because magic is no more than smoke, mirrors and faulty locks, right, Amy?" Mitsuhiko couldn't resist jabbing the illusionist. He didn't take it badly, though.

"It's partly true but I only use real locks. Magic may not be completely real but I'm not going to go out of my way to do something so mediocre!"

"Right. You go do that" the hunter beckoned Sugita and together they went to explore the rest of the place. Near the stairs to the Fourth Floor there was one more staircase, but unlike the others this one wasn't closed. In fact, they could ascend if they wanted! Sugita suggested going upstairs but Mitsuhiko thought it'd be better to see first the contents of this floor before going to the attic or whatever was up there. No Fifth Floor existed so it was unknown territory up there.

The first room they found was something that brought Mitsuhiko back to his time in Hope's Peak. It was an Archery Range! Targets filled the back, nailed to the walls. They were full of holes and splintered arrows; nobody had bothered to clean them up. "Oh, what a place. It's hard to believe just a few years ago I was being studied by scientists in a place like this"

"It used to sound like you had fun!" Sugita said, going to a door to the side "I bet you'll be coming here all the time"

"This is the closest there's to hunting. At least I have guns and bullets"

"Even if you didn't you'd be able to practice. Take a look here" Sugita had entered the storeroom to the side. When Mitsuhiko joined her he saw large boards made of cork. Lots of bows hanged from there. There were boxes of arrows and materials for them, and Mitsuhiko even saw a huge crossbow on the floor.

"Wow. This school really had everything they needed"

"Shouldn't we lock this place? This stuff could be used as a weapon" Sugita suggested but Mitsuhiko rejected the idea. They were so close to finally finding out about what was going on...there was no benefit to killing. Nobody would do that.

There was another balcony on this floor, which apparently was named the Lookout. It was nothing else than a place to hang out and spend time but it served as a way to look at most of the Front Courtyard. The planks that held the solar systems from the Astronomy Laboratory were lodged in there as well"Do you think there could be a way to climb the fence?" Mitsuhiko asked, eyeing the trees on the other side.

"It's impossible. We don't have anything we could use to climb it"

"How is it locked? A padlock, an electronic device, how?" If they knew how it was then maybe they could break it. How hard could it be?

"It seems to be something like an electronic lock. A password is needed and if one misses...I don't want to think what could happen"

"Why?" Mitsuhiko inquired. The Tea Demon merely pointed upwards. Above him Mitsuhiko saw what seemed to be sniper rifles, aiming to points where a person would be standing when inputting the code. "Oh. Yeah, not good"

"Kobayashi-kun almost got shot the first day we were here. If Tohya-kun hadn't seen them he'd be dead!" Sugita commented, entering back.

"Good for him. It doesn't seem like there's anything else to see around here" Mitsuhiko looked around; the Fourth Floor was particularly empty. All that was left was a bunch of empty rooms that didn't have any function. The exploration was pretty short "Let's move upwards"

The stairs didn't lead to a fifth floor. Instead it was to the Roof, the very top of the Headquarters. It was a large expanse of cement, the edges having a small fence to protect the people in case they got too close to the edge. It was a pretty windy place, anybody would want to sit there and do nothing, just enjoy the breeze. Sugita and Mitsuhiko took a moment to appreciate the Roof, letting themselves forget their situation.

It was a luxury they couldn't afford until that moment. But the circumstances once again overwhelmed then, bringing them out from their enjoyment. "This whole new area is a waste of time and resources" Mitsuhiko sentenced "There's nothing to report. Let's go see if Amy is as good as a lock picker as he says he is"

And he was! When Mitsuhiko and Sugita arrived to the Waiting Room they found Kobayashi finishing his assignment. The lock opened with a loud click. Mimori, who had been resting on a nearby couch, stood up to open the door. "Are you all ready? We could find Veritas and the Main Board behind this door"

"I don't want to fight..." Kobayashi muttered. Of course he wasn't in condition to get into a scuffle, he was relatively weak. Mitsuhiko took out his M9 Twin Beretta.

"I can protect everybody. Nobody would fight against a handgun like this one. Leave it up to me"

"You should go first, then" Mimori ordered "We'll go behind you" While Mitsuhiko wasn't very happy of being forced to be everybody's human shield he had to admit it was the logical way to go. Taking a deep breath he made sure the gun had bullets and entered through the door.

It wasn't a single room. It was one large office with two other rooms attached. In the one they were in was a long table, just like the one in the Meeting Room, but with three seats. On the table there were a handful of notes in a handwriting nobody present recognized. All of them were notes about the investigations and the murders, written with enthusiasm and a joy that made Mitsuhiko almost choke in rage. "For them it's just a game...I can see it..." he muttered, leaving the notes aside. The others were looking in the other rooms to see what they could find.

On the wall there was a large cork board. When Mitsuhko saw what was on it he felt some relief at seeing it was up here and not in the first floor. It was like an armory. There were knives, guns of different calibers, lots of weapons. Mitsuhiko took out the Beretta he received from Hasegawa's package in the first day and compared it to one that was hanging up there alone. The empty space and the identical manufacture of the gun on the wall was enough for him to suppose the gun had come from here. "...Hasegawa-san has some questions to answer"

"They're not here! We have been bamboozled!" Kobayashi's voice, already strained, reverberated around the rooms. The commanders returned to the main room, very frustrated.

"But they were supposed to be here! What's the meaning of this?" Mimori exclaimed, opening and closing a door as if she expected them to materialize behind it in any second.

"We were lied to. We trusted the masterminds and this is what we get. We're idiots" Sugita was more accepting than them. Mitsuhiko had already seen it coming, too. After all his suspicion was that the Main Board was the masterminds, this was pretty much the confirmation he needed.

He voiced his suspicion. The others considered it for a moment, reticent. "That...that could be..." Kobayashi seemed like he was about to cry.

"It would explain a lot of things. Are you sure nobody left this floor, Mimori-san?" Sugita inquired. The journalist was very emphatic nobody could have gone through without waking her up. "So now what?"

"Now we tell Kishio-sensei. She told me she was waiting for the result of this exploration to know what to do. If you ask me..." Kobayashi paused for a moment, looking for the right words "...I think she has intentionally not done anything yet because she was hoping the Main Board was up here. Now that it's clear there isn't...she needs to lead us. She'll know what to do"

"Let's inform her"

"I'll stay for now, I want to see what else I can find" Mitsuhiko informed, eyeing the doors to the other rooms and the object on the wall. It was a small console with a microphone integrated. Two screens showed the Cafeteria from a strange height, like a kid was watching. The commanders in there were being spied. A few lines on a corner said the AI was set on automatic mode. Since one of the screens was tinted red Mitsuhiko didn't have any problems noticing what was going on. "Hello! My name is Monobear and I deserve to get my ass kicked" Mitsuhiko said on the microphone. Mitsuhiko had no idea if it worked but it didn't matter. The controls seemed to be locked so there was nothing else he could do.

_So this is where Monobear is controlled from. Which one of them was saying everything Monobear said?_ He didn't know what the Main Board members were like or what their personalities were so he had no idea how to determine it. It didn't matter that much, though. After checking the console just to find nothing worthwhile he went to the door on the left.

It was a tiny room with a huge console, almost completely covered in screens. Virtually every room in the Headquarters was being watched. "I had no idea there were cameras!" the hunter commented to himself. He should have supposed it, though. How else would the masterminds keep track of everything? There didn't seem to be any sound, though. _So that_ _'_ _s why Monobear had taken one of Takayama-kun_ _'_ _s microphones. No sound through cameras, of course._

"So, let's see what's on the other room..."When Mitsuhiko entered the other room he found once another console. It was what controlled the shutters and other electronic mechanisms. He would have dismissed it if it weren't because there was one detail that stood out: something indicating there was a shutter in the third floor...and it wasn't the one on the stairs. _Must be from what_ _'_ _s in that bricked wing. There must be some way to get in there...I_ _'_ _ll find it at some point, I suppose._

And that was everything that was here. It was pretty significant for Mitsuhiko because there was one thing he didn't find: signs of somebody being kept locked around here. In the hunter's opinion this was conclusive evidence.

But would it be convenient to say it aloud? Why not to press for an escape without alerting the masterminds about him being on their trail?

When he returned to the Cafeteria there was hubbub in a corner. Kishio was there, apparently the others had just finished telling her their findings. When the hunter approached the Linguist muttered some swears in foreign languages and turned to him. "Tell me there's something about the Main Board up there"

"Not even a clue of where they are. We have fallen in the masterminds' trap" he replied. Kishio tugged on her hair and let out a sigh of frustration.

"We're a group of dumbasses. It's my fault. I shouldn't have waited for confirmation before deciding to do anything"

"So now what?"

"Now we'll escape, that's what we'll do" she was starting to calm down, her frustration being replaced by determination "Leave this up to me. I'll assemble a team and we'll do something that'll work"

"We're not going to try to guess the code for the fence door, are we?" Mimori asked "Nothing up there had the password"

"No. There must be other ways to escape. Let me think and I'll tell you all after I think of something"

Kishio refused to say anything about potential traps, perhaps fearing the masterminds from hearing what she had in mind. As his presence wasn't needed anymore Mitsuhiko thought this was a good time to be with Yurie again, check if she needed any help and inform her of his findings.

Yurie wasn't in her room. In fact, Mitsuhiko found her now in the hall towards the Cafeteria. She was now sitting on a wheelchair, stubbornly trying to push the wheels by herself. Before the hunter could go the wheelchair started rolling forward towards him without the hacker even moving. "Woah!"

"Got you" Mitsuhiko stopped the wheelchair. There seemed to be a slope on the floor, unnoticeable by anybody walking, but it was enough for the wheels to start rolling. "These wheels must be of excellent quality. They're sensible to even the slightest tilt"

"...I hate this thing" Yurie murmured, gripping the wheels with fury "Koshimizu-san said it's likely I won't be able to walk again. I hate him, I hate everything"

"He must be wrong" Mitsuhiko said, pushing the wheelchair to the bedrooms hall "Don't lose your hope, Yurie. You'll walk again"

"Meh" Yurie looked upwards "Nothing is going well in my life these days. We're trapped here, the murder plan went wrong, you're not willing to keep trying, I got locked in a cell, I got poisoned and now I'm crippled. I'm sure it's karma...and I'm going to make this day worse now. Mitsu-chan, we need to talk"

"About what?"

"About us. Let's go to my room" she requested. That sounded like there was going to be a delicate talk so Mitsuhiko felt dread when going in. What was Yurie going to say about their relationship? It wasn't going to be bad, was it? Once Yurie was in the bedroom she took a deep breath and wringed her hands. She seemed uncharacteristically meek "I...I think we should break up"

It took several seconds for Mitsuhiko to process what she said "...what?"

"We should break up" she repeated "I know we're engaged and ready to marry but...I can't take it anymore. I have lied to you, Mitsu-chan. I...I ruined your life"

"I don't understand what you mean" Anybody could say they ruined somebody's life, it was often an exaggeration. Mitsuhiko was willing to forget what she had just said as long as she didn't go into detail. The hacker swallowed nervously.

"Many years ago I told you I'm a recruiter for Vittoria's crime organization. What I didn't tell you is that...I approached you to recruit you and nothing more"

"...I had always supposed that, to be honest, but it doesn't matter now. You're here and we got engaged. That means something changed"

"And something DID change! It's just that it was just a couple years ago, when you were already into the organization. I pretended to love you for so at least a year. I'm a terrible person"

"Ah" That did sound bad but Mitsuhiko shook his head. He wasn't going to let himself be broken "B-But you love me now and that's what matters"

"...it was at the cost of your life and future. If I hadn't gotten into your life you wouldn't be in DeeEy, you'd be successful and happy. Listen to me"

Yurie started telling him everything. How in a hacking spree of Hope's Peak's files she found out about him. How she had talked with Vittoria about the possibility of recruiting him. How Yurie received the assignment to do it. How she found out Mitsuhiko's parents were the only anchor to a normal life and how eliminating them would leave him malleable and ready. How she slowly corrupted his view of the world so killing people wouldn't be a problem for him.

...how she led him into Vittoria and later into Diavolos Avante. Yurie had taken the job to convert Hikaru Mitsuhide into a completely different person and the name change they arranged was what sealed it. Hikaru Mitsuhide didn't exist, it was now Mitsuhiko Hikari.

And it was all her fault.

"Karma must have finally caught up to me. I'm paying for my sins and I hate it. It's time for me to be honest. I love you, Mitsu-chan, but after all the gross stuff I did I don't want to weigh you down. We're breaking up"

"You can't just say we're breaking up and suppose that's it!" Mitsuhiko hadn't said anything during Yurie's tirade, way too busy trying to understand where everything had gone wrong. Had he really been so dense as to notice everything she had said she did? It seemed like he was.

It was true that lately his appreciation for Yurie had declined but that didn't mean he didn't love her.

Yurie narrowed her eyes "Two people need to agree for a relationship to blossom. If I don't want to take part in it you can't force me. You won't force me"

"...no. I won't accept this. I won't let this happen" Mitsuhiko paced around frantically "Look, I forgive you, Yurie. I won't promise everything will be like it has always been but I won't hate you if that's what you're afraid of"

"No, it isn't that. I'm breaking up with you and that's my final answer" if she could use her legs she would have left the bedroom without another word but since she was crippled all she could do was pitifully turn the wheelchair around. Mitsuhiko didn't forcefully turn her around. He wanted to be alone.

"Yurie, you better be sure about your decisions. I'll leave you to think what you want to do" Mitsuhiko had to be honest with himself; if after a while Yurie kept wishing to break up their engagement he'd accept it. Later he'd chalk his reaction to the shock and nasty surprise that was receiving such bad news.

Besides there were bigger problems than his engagement. They needed to escape, the Main Board was the masterminds and their lives were in risk. After that was solved they'd decide what to do about their engagement.

These definitely weren't good days for anybody.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter has Free Time. If there's a character you're interested on knowing more about feel free to PM me or leave a comment. Only Yurie is unavailable.


	26. Chapter 4: Hellfire - (Ab)normal Days II

Mitsuhiko was not very happy. He had just spent a couple hours brooding in his bedroom, thinking over and over on what Yurie had said to him about what she had done to him and his life. And to be completely honest with himself, now that the shock of the news was gone...

...he felt a lot of resentment. It was Yurie's fault his life was like this, his parents were dead and he was a hitman for a shady organization...well, two. He wouldn't have even thought of walking down this path if it hadn't been for her.

But despite his need to talk about it with Yurie he didn't dare to do it right now. He told himself it'd be better to do it when they were all out. Then he'd agree to break up, it was over. Yurie was no more than a stranger, for all he cared.

That didn't mean he wanted to see her dead, though. She was vulnerable now that she was crippled, anybody could go into her bedroom and snap her neck or do something like that. Mitsuhiko swore to protect Yurie until they all escaped.

_I need to talk with this with somebody_ he thought. Sugita was the best choice; she was his childhood friend, after all! The hunter started looking for her.

In the Lounge he found Kishio. The linguist was reading a long list in notes Mitsuhiko recognized from Mimori's notebook. It was a good time to make sure Kishio wasn't lazing around instead of doing her job as their leader. "What do you have there?"

"I'm busy, Hikari-kun. No time for socializing" she said, reading a handful of notes.

"I could help if you let me know more" to give emphasis to his intention he sat on the arm of the couch, trying to peek into the notes.

"Fine. It's a complete inventory of every object in this building. There may be many things we could use to escape or to survive in the city; we better keep track of them"

"Are you saying you're finally thinking of a plan?" Those were definitely good news! "It was about time you started thinking of an escape plan. Too many people have died"

Kishio didn't take very kindly the insult included in the comment. Mitsuhiko had to admit the stay so far had changed his opinion about many people. Yurie wasn't the person he thought she was, Kishio wasn't somebody deserving the admiration everybody, including himself, had for her, Sugita was more affected by the past than he had thought and Kobayashi was slowly proving to be more than a worthless newbie commander. Those were the biggest examples. The rest had been interesting in other ways.

"If you have nothing better to say then please get the fuck away of me" Kishio snapped. Yep, she definitely hadn't taken kindly to the insult.

"All I want to know is why you're doing this now and not earlier. It's not that hard to answer, is it?"

"There weren't enough things for us to use to escape. That is it" she replied and returned to reading the notes. Mitsuhiko wasn't going to leave her alone yet, though. She had lowered her guard when she let him approach, it was time to abuse that chance.

"That's a bad excuse and you know it. I thought you were the best commander in the country but all you have shown nothing to support that notion. All you have done so far is spout lines in other languages and be generally useless. Not very memorable character traits, if you ask me"

"This is no story, Hikari-kun, I couldn't care less if I'm memorable or not. Besides memorable people don't live for long. I want to be in the background. Better not to have a lot of attention on me"

"...well the good news is that you have been in the background. The bad news is that you haven't done a single useful thing, that is still a fact"

"If I have survived so far it must mean I have done something right" Kishio replied stubbornly, but judging by her furrowed brow Mitsuhiko's words had actually bothered her "Besides what could I have done until now? There's nothing I could have done until I knew all the facts. Think that was wrong?"

"Of course I do! You have been sitting to a side all this time while people turn into murderers and victims!"

"...that's true. Hikari-kun, I know what you think of me. You think I'm not worthy of having the reputation I have, do you?" That was true. Mitsuhiko had lost the respect he had for Kishio but he had never voiced it to anybody "To be completely honest with you I have to admit I don't know why I have it in the first place. I think it's because I'm useful for the Main Board...?"

"Well you're pretty much the only member who can talk many languages. This is a world-wide organization, it's to be expected you're useful"

"I considered some ways of escaping but...knowing the Main Board were held hostages...I couldn't simply leave them behind, you know? We all could escape but then they could be hurt or killed, for all we knew"

The hunter gritted his teeth. That sounded like an excuse to him, especially since he was almost sure the Main Board were the masterminds. "I can't understand..."

"The most important quality DeeEy enforces is loyalty. Nobody is betrayed, we all look for each other. I'm not that good of a commander but I can at least say I do my best to protect my subordinates"

"You have done nothing to protect us"

"That's not the point. My point is that the Main Board is who made me who I am. They're pretty much the only people in this organization that have helped me, encouraged me to be better; I owe a lot to them. Not to offend you but in my priority list they were higher than all of you"

That kind of made sense but that didn't mean Mitsuhiko liked it. "And now what? You're here working on a plan, did something change?"

"Of course something changed: the Main Board isn't up there. Since they aren't we have no reason to stay in this building. They must be held somewhere else and once we escape I'll look for them. I don't expect anybody else to help me but I don't care"

After that, no matter how many times Mitsuhiko tried to get her to answer more, Kishio just ignored him. All she did was finish her inspection of the inventory then start writing notes and draw diagrams. It all looked like doodles to the hunter, he had no idea what was going through Kishio's mind.

_I watched in silence for a while. She pretended I wasn_ _'_ _t there._

-ooooo-

The Third Floor smelled better than the day before. Mitsuhiko was thankful for that, finally the dead rats and the grime had been cleaned from the Biology Laboratory. He came to the Third Floor to look for a way to get through the brick wall blocking the way to the other half of the floor but it was carefully done and despite all his efforts there were no chances of breaking the wall. There's nothing I can do with this wall. There must be some other way to get in there, but how?

While he was leaving to return to the Cafeteria for lunch he heard a sound coming from the Physics Laboratory. Glad that no special identification was needed to enter he opened the door, finding Sasuga precariously standing on the huge death ray. He was knocking the ceiling in several points. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Mitsuhiko asked. That looked very dangerous!

"I'm examining the ceiling. Remember Fukuyama-kun's execution?"

The hunter wished he could forget it. "Yeah, what about that?"

"I'm trying to find the machine that was used to kill him but I can't find anything! How can that huge machine be hidden between the floors without leaving a trace? That's what I don't understand"

Sasuga was right about that. Mitsuhiko was no expert in concealing stuff but it didn't seem like there was enough space between the floors to hide the machine. "It's the same than with Hosoya-kun's execution. Those spikes just can't have existed in that wall. Have you checked that?"

Sasuga got off the death ray "I haven't but I did check the Theather after Kayano-san was killed. I didn't have access to the chemicals in this laboratory but one doesn't need them when a mere half an hour had passed! I should have been able to see blood or something but there was nothing"

"Maybe Monobear or Lily got it cleaned"

"Maybe they did but even then there should have been wet spots or something like that. What do you think all that means?" a perk from having been such an influential figure during the trials was that the commanders wanted to hear his opinion in strange matters like this one. It was going to backfire if he was wrong or if he said something that'd end being troublesome for the group but it wasn't like he could keep his opinion to himself.

"Hmmm...maybe they didn't die? Maybe they're actually alive somewhere?"

Sasuga considered the possibility. "I think they're dead, if you ask me. Something about Fukuyama-kun makes me think the culprits are being killed...he was the mole, after all. If he knew the culprits were just taken away and freed after a trial where they get caught I think he wouldn't have tried so hard to survive. You know, planning with that courier woman, pretending to be sick, all that...he would have just played along and done nothing complicated"

"He may not have known it" the hunter argued but the roboticist shrugged, not having anything to say about that.

"A mole agreeing to cooperate without knowing all the details? Do you think Fukuyama-kun would do that?"

"I have good reasons to believe the masterminds didn't say everything about their plans" he said bitterly. Fukuyama may not have been a good person but he wasn't an idiot. Surely he knew what he was doing...or thought he knew.

"It doesn't really matter now, I was about to try something and you can help. Here, take this" Sasuga took a bottle of an unknown liquid from the counter. The label indicated it came from the Chemistry Laboratory "It's Luminol. Blood is quite sticky; even if it's cleaned there'll be remains of it. This will allow us to-"

"I know how Luminol works" Mitsuhiko interrupted. A strong chemical aroma wafted from the container "Where do you want me to spray?"

Sasuga and Mitsuhiko worked together. Although there was sunlight pouring from the window Sasuga's shadow was enough for the lantern he somehow obtained to shine onto the floor. The problem was that despite their efforts there was no blood to be found. "We either did this wrong or there wasn't any blood in the first place" Sasuga concluded.

"But we saw the execution! Fukuyama-kun left the Meeting Room and was led away by Monobear, he must have died!"

"I'm not sure what has happened with the culprits but between you and me..." Sasuga approached to whisper "...I think we may have taken some things for granted. The culprits must have successfully gotten out of this hell"

That was outrageous. Why would the Main Board let anybody go? Mitsuhiko couldn't think of a single reason for that to be possible, it didn't make any sense! Yet now there were three times in a row that there were no traces of the execution despite them being done in a place easily accessible for them. "You said ten minutes ago that Fukuyama-kun must be dead"

"I lied to see your reactions" Sasuga was obviously trying to cover for his former opinion. It was likely it was just a change of opinion and no more but it was still mildly suspicious "It's better to think people is alive than dead, right?"

"...I suppose so" Still, this is quite odd...people have died, that much I have no doubts, but what about the rest? "But let's be realistic: the masterminds wouldn't let anybody live after being caught in the trial. They're dead, they must be, and that's final. Don't think the opposite because it'd be holding onto false hopes, alright?"

Sasuga sighed "Fine, it was just a nice thought. I'm going downstairs" the Roboticist left the room, followed by the hunter. He considered informing Kishio about these findings but decided not to do it, thinking it may distract her from the task of organizing an escape. _There are other things to work on. I_ _'_ _ll leave it to her._

-ooooo-

Koshimizu wasn't happy about what he was doing. Yurie was a criminal, as far as he was concerned. She had tried to kill somebody and surely would have no regrets on seeing everybody else except Mitsuhiko be executed. If it had been up to him he'd have walked away and left Yurie to endure her leg paralysis.

But Mitsuhiko wouldn't have accepted that. Koshimizu hated to accept it but he owed the hunter a few favors...for saving their lives three times already. Once was nothing to call home about, twice was enough to make his resolve to make unlawful people pay tremble on its foundations, just like it was shown by his acceptance of letting Mitsuhiko and Yurie be free, three times was bordering begrudging admiration. He thought of this service as his way to be even with Mitsuhiko.

The hunter didn't know any of that, though. He leaned on the wall, watching Koshimizu hold Yurie's hands while she tried to stand up. The Medical Demon had insisted some physical rehabilitation was important, especially since the trauma had happened just a few hours ago. The earlier they started to fix it the better, he said. Mitsuhiko wasn't sure if that really was the correct procedure but he trusted Koshimizu on that regard.

"There we go. You can at least stand up. Your legs are strong enough to stay rigid and hold your weight, that's a good sign" he was saying.

"But will she be able to walk ever again?" Mitsuhiko asked.

"It'll take quite a while before she gains enough motor function to walk...and it's not guaranteed. Hemlock can damage the nerves. The reason she's able to stand up with help is because of her bones, mostly. Can you step forward, Oyama-san?"

"I can't, you asshole" she grumbled "Do I look like I can?" Koshimizu shook his head, annoyed, but didn't let her go. Instead he carefully made her sit again.

"Well that was enlightening. The damage is certainly extensive. We're done here for today. I'll program some basic physical rehabilitation exercises but you'll have to meet a professional on that regard. I'm more of a general practitioner, after all" Not long after that Koshimizu left the bedroom, followed by Mitsuhiko.

"Koshimizu-san, thank you for your time. I know we don't really get along but I appreciate what you're doing"

"Don't mention it. Seriously, don't" Koshimizu replied, walking a tad faster. Feeling like he had touched a nerve...somehow...Mitsuhiko reached him.

"Did I say something bad? I won't accept you badmouthing Yurie, if that's what you're trying to do"

"I'm not trying to badmouth anybody. That's hard to do when their actions say everything we need to know about people like you and her"

That was a better insight into Koshimizu's mind than Mitsuhiko expected. "Is this about what she and I did about shooting Amy? Because we already said we're sorry about that"

"Yes, it's precisely about that! Do you expect me to believe you two are sorry about trying to kill somebody? Maybe you are but she isn't repentant at all. I know how she looks at us, like we're disposable people. If it weren't because you're her girlfriend I wouldn't even approach her" Koshimizu hadn't noticed his hushed tone had turned into shouting. Mitsuhiko stepped backwards, startled and unsure of what to say.

"Um...I'll accept that yeah, she's not sorry, but you're a doctor. It's your responsibility to heal people"

"I'm not a doctor! I quit that to join DeeEy. I'm, by definition, not a doctor anymore" That was a bit more of a surprise. Mitsuhiko had no idea Koshimizu had quitted the profession. "It's true I'm the medic of this organization here in Japan but that doesn't mean I'm bound by the profession. I'm my own man and don't you forget that"

"Why did you quit?"

Koshimizu scratched his chin "I don't feel comfortable talking about that but let me tell you that the reason I quit is the same reason why I'm trying to be such a hard-ass towards criminals. It's nothing personal against you or her. It's that you and she represent exactly what I want to see gone from my sight" he started walking away "Perhaps that means it IS personal. Whatever"

The Medical Demon was soon gone who knows where. Mitsuhiko leaned against the wall and sighed. So Koshimizu wasn't being an asshole to Yurie just because he wanted to. There was a deeper reason for that, and apparently it was the same reason he renounced to the profession, at least...towards the public. He felt like he understood Koshimizu just a bit better but it wasn't enough. He wouldn't really understand what the medic was like unless he knew what had pushed him away from the medical profession.

And to be completely honest with himself...he wasn't feeling brave enough to ask it directly.

_I returned with Yurie._

-ooooo-

Despite Kishio's efforts it didn't seem like she had finished her plans during the afternoon. However at dinner time she got everybody's attention. "Everybody, we're going to be out of here tomorrow. Due to the possibility of the kidnappers hearing the details I'm going to take a lot of precautions about everybody's role. Our effort will at first be focused on creating a way for us to escape. Once that's done we'll gather provisions and finally get out of here. In a couple hours I'll talk with a select few and give them instructions for tomorrow. Any questions?"

"Will it really work?" Romi asked. Kishio shrugged.

"I think we'll be capable of doing it but just in case don't get your hopes too high. After all our kidnappers are watching us right now, I bet. They may try to stop us. We'll do our best, though"

That made sense. There was no way the Main Board was going to let people go easily. _Knowing how this wretched place works somebody will die before the escape happens and everything will be ruined...Kishio-sensei is going to get killed, isn_ _'_ _t she?_ Would the Main Board take a risk and kill Kishio themselves?

Despite Kishio's prudent warnings the moods were pretty cheery. Everybody had hopes of finally escaping, placing all their faith on Kishio. Once dinner was over most of the graduates went to their bedrooms. Yurie insisted to go by herself, trying to get used to the wheelchair. Koshimizu and Kobayashi stayed behind in the Cafeteria. Kobayashi's shot arm, wounded what seemed so long ago, was finally healed enough for the doctor to take off the sling. Mitsuhiko stayed nearby, there was something he needed to do. "There we go. Don't move it forcefully, after all the bullet impacted the bone. It'll take a while to heal, alright?"

"Thank you Koshimizu-san" the illusionist said, bowing. Koshimizu gave a thumbs up and left, ignoring Mitsuhiko. Once he was sure Koshimizu was away the hunter approached.

"Hey, Amy"

"Ah, it's you" it was the first time Kobayashi and Mitsuhiko were alone and talking to each other. Since their most memorable interaction so far was shooting and getting shot it wasn't like they had a good base for a friendship. "What's up?"

"I wanted to apologize for...that" Mitsuhiko half-heartedly gestured at the arm he had shot "I don't expect you to forgive me but I felt I should at least apologize for that"

Kobayashi usually was a placid person. He went along with everybody and wanted to blend more into the crowd than stand out. However now that placidness was gone. In its place was a disdain Mitsuhiko didn't think he'd see. "D-Do you think saying sorry is going to heal my arm?"

"Um, I didn't think that, it's just that-"

"I'm not interested, man. You shot me and it can't be taken back. Don't expect me to forgive you" Kobayashi didn't go away or move. Instead he smiled bashfully "Have you ever seen a magic show?"

Somewhat startled by the change of topic Mitsuhiko shook his head. Kobayashi nodded in understanding "They're less and less popular nowadays but I didn't care. I made myself a career in the field of magic and illusions. It doesn't makes me rich or anything like that, I should say that"

"I'd love to see one of your shows" the hunter said without really meaning it. There was something that was bothering him, the way Kobayashi had looked at him...it made him really uncomfortable. In that moment he remembered a simple fact:

Kobayashi was a commander. Sure, he was new to the role and therefore inexperienced but he was a commander nevertheless. Nobody got to be a commander by being useless or harmless. Anybody in that position needed to have a good deal of ruthlessness and know how to achieve their goals. Nice meek Kobayashi...was a commander.

"I don't think you mean it" Kobayashi's smile faded "Between you and me, nobody does. Magic is a thing of the past, apparently. Magic shows soon weren't enough for me to have money to live like I wanted to. It wasn't anything luxurious, just an apartment in a nice place, all that"

"What's the point you want to make?" Mitsuhiko really had meant to apologize but this was turning south way too fast for his comfort.

"My point is that I had to do other stuff to earn money. I tried many things but do you know what was really good, something I could use my magic in?" Kobayashi's eyes shone dangerously when he leaned forward towards Mitsuhiko. "Bounty hunting"

Kobayashi was a bounty hunter? That didn't mesh at all with the illusionist's personality. Mitsuhiko would have never guessed that. "I see! Were you good at it?"

"You can bet I was! Illusions are great for getting some people to lower their guard. I could create some very contrived scenarios and they always ended in me catching them. If I had been in high school by the time I was doing that maybe Hope's Peak would have taken me in as the Super High School Level Bounty Hunter!" Kobayashi sounded enormously proud of his achievements. Mitsuhiko was more unsettled than impressed.

"Right...I see. I didn't think you had it in you, to be frank..."

"...Hikari-kun, I'm just a bounty hunter. That doesn't mean I'm evil or anything like that" he seemed genuinely hurt, somehow "I may hate you but that doesn't mean I'll get in your way. We're pals, aren't we? DeeEy people!" Kobayashi extended his hand "We have to work together" Mitsuhiko definitely was beginning to understand why Kobayashi was a commander. He hadn't expected it at all.

Reluctant, Mitsuhiko shook hands with him. Kobayashi sensed the hunter's attitude had changed towards him and frowned. Thinking that perhaps he had gone too far with his revelations he decided to try to even up things. "Relax, I'm more your friend than you imagine. You once had a prize assigned to your head, you know. I could have captured you at some point but I didn't. That should count for something"

"Er, maybe?"

The frown deepened. "Fuck, I-I screwed up. I should have been more careful. I'll, um, go away..." Kobayashi had that more familiar behavior now and left the Cafeteria, rubbing his arm. Mitsuhiko stayed there, astonished, trying to process everything Kobayashi had said.

_I decided to find out more from Amy at some point._

-ooooo-

Kishio had done it! A plan was crafted and to be honest this commander thought it could work. They had received an assignment and instructions. They and a couple commanders more were supposed to meet early in the morning to do what they needed to do, and right now this commander was gathering the stuff they needed.

They weren't alone, though. Their creation was with them, rummaging through the cabinets of the Chemistry Laboratory. "...what will happen to me..?" Lily was a robot, that much was true. However it was no secret AI had the possibility of evolving and enhancing itself. Since the day of her creation her AI had started to slowly get a level of appreciation towards her creator. The rest of humanity, even her creator's comrades, weren't high in her priority list. Now that their carefully crafted plan had been ruined and the only thing to do was to escape...what was Lily going to do now?

"You'll stay here and crack the mystery of the Main Board. You'll gather the proof we need and broadcast it to everybody. Use the transmitter in the bricked up wing. I won't be here but I trust you can do it"

The creator was speaking with a calming tone. Lily felt encouraged, being given a mission even if it was likely she wouldn't see her creator again. "I will!"

"Aaaand...if we all escape and you fail to broadcast anything...kill them. No matter how you do it, you'll have to kill them. If you fail that'll be the only way to stop them from completing the corruption that is overtaking DeeEy. Understood?"

The instructions were clear. Lily nodded and continued rummaging through the cabinets until she found the container she was looking for. 'Ethanol'. "Here it is!" she exclaimed, passing it to her creator. The creator took it and examined how much there was.

"This is no good. There's not enough. I'll need more flammable liquid. Meanwhile, look for a large container to mix in" the creator gave Lily back the Ethanol while they went downstairs to the Kitchen. They soon returned with canola oil. "This's flammable too so...what did you do?"

"I found this container" Lily had taken a large bottle she found in a cabinet and poured the ethanol into it, forgetting to take out the original content. That content wasn't flammable but maybe that could be fixed. The creator added the canola oil and mixed the liquid, deciding to testits qualities now.

They poured some of the liquid on the floor and after taking a couple steps back they threw a lit match in it. The result...was quite a fire. Satisfied, the creator got rid of the fire and approached, noticing the singed floor had a distinctive smell, hinting what the main component of the mix was. That worried them. "Oh well. It isn't like it matters now. We can't step back"

They left with the bottle of flammable catalyst, ready for the morning to come. Others would deal with a couple tasks more but they had finished their job for the night.


	27. Chapter 4: Hellfire - (Ab)normal Days III

Morning came. The day outside was once again cloudy. The weather during their stay had been almost the same during all these days: cloudy. Sometimes with rain or with wind. What was up with that? It kind of depressed Mitsuhiko. The situation would at least look more hopeful without the dreadful weather. _Surely when we finally escape the sun will appear from behind the clouds and shine upon us or something clich_ _é_ _like_ that he sneered at the sky before leaving his bedroom.

Today was the day of the escape and...and he had not received instructions. The first thing to do during the day was knock on Yurie's door, soon receiving an answer, inviting him to come in. Yurie was already awake and rolling around on her wheelchair. "Good morning, Yurie. Um, since we're going to get out of here I wanted to..." Mitsuhiko started. He wasn't sure how to word it, so he went with a more or less blunt way "...to tell you that we're going to define our relationship after we're out. If we break up that's okay, if we continue together that's okay. I'm leaving this up to you"

"My decision hasn't changed" she said firmly "We're breaking up"

The hunter suppressed a few swear words, having promised himself he'd accept Yurie's decision, but in his heart he had to admit he was kind of...relieved? Yurie was responsible for his actual situation, after all. Having such a toxic person as his wife wasn't a good idea. "Fine, if you have made your mind...I won't fight it. We can at least be friends, right?"

Yurie rubbed her eyes, maybe trying to hide gratitude tears "We can! I can't say how much that means to me, Mitsu-chan"

"Right. Want to go for breakfast?"

"I'm not hungry, I'll go later" she replied "First I'd like to get used to this wheelchair. I'm starting to get the hang of it" Of course Yurie would try to be independent. That was just like her. Mitsuhiko smiled in acceptance and left towards the Cafeteria.

Everybody else was already reunited there. Even Lily was among the commanders, walking around and looking pretty nervous, but the people were more excited than nervous. Sasuga and Sugita seemed happier than they had been until now, Romi had once again gotten her guitar out and was strumming it and Kishio was standing on the tables shouting encouraging words in seven languages. Mitsuhiko felt his resolve to escape get stronger; knowing everybody else shared the same determination.

Breakfast went by in a flash, everybody waiting for Kishio to say what they needed to know. She didn't disappoint. " _Engarde_ , everybody! This is the final battle. Let's do our best. Since being prudent is the best thing to do I have assigned different goals to each person, this way the masterminds won't stop us easily. Some of you will work alone, some will work in pairs. Your tasks will be given to you privately right now" Kishio proceeded to sit in a corner of the Cafeteria and call each graduate individually and inform them of what they needed to do. She made sure to whisper and not let anybody else hear it. Soon it was Mitsuhiko's turn.

"So, you're a hunter. I suppose that means you know about survival in troublesome environments, right?" she inquired once he was with her. Mitsuhiko confirmed it "Your task shall be to gather all the provisions we may need. We're going into the city and it's possible we may encounter rioters. Keep in mind some of us may not be able to carry a lot of stuff, form small packages for each of us. Did you understand all this?"

"I did. What about Yurie's task? She's not here, I could tell her"

Kishio shook her head "She's not in condition to be of help, I'm afraid. In fact, it's going to be harder to help her escape, at least for the first part. For now she can stay in her bedroom until it's time. When it's time you'll get her and take her to the meeting point"

"And where is that?"

"The Roof. That's where we'll meet"

The Roof? Mitsuhiko expected the courtyard to be the meeting point, not the freaking roof. Was a helicopter going to come, where they going to build wings, just what was Kishio planning? She didn't go into detail, though, she only gave a smug smile as if she was saying 'just wait and you'll see'. Knowing he wouldn't get anything from further interrogation he retired to his seat.

When everybody got their tasks Kishio once again got everybody's attention. "Listen everybody! With the exception of Hikari-kun, and that exception is valid only for the next five minutes, it's forbidden for anybody to come to the Cafeteria. In fact, stay away of this hall! Coming here will be the same than insubordination. I'm serious" That seemed pretty arbitrary to Mitsuhiko, why was it forbidden? But he had the feeling asking wasn't going to bring any answers, surely that was related to her escape plans.

"Where is Monobear? I expected him to be around" Romi asked. Other commanders voiced the same concern but indeed, it was weird. Anybody would have thought Monobear would be around ruining everything but they hadn't seen him yet.

Kishio grinned widely, holding a key in the air "I found a padlock in the sports shed and I used it to lock the door to Monobear's control panel. Without a controller that fucking bear can't meddle with us"

"Great! Good job, Kishio-sense!" Kobayashi exclaimed, his eyes shining. The Linguist enjoyed the praise and went to the entrance of the Cafeteria.

"Well let's get going! Everybody has something to do, so let's go!" But she didn't leave. Everybody else did but Kishio stayed, staring at Mitsuhiko. Knowing she wouldn't leave until he did what he needed to do, the hunter entered the kitchen and got enough food for everybody alive to survive for a couple days. He was sure they'd find more once they escaped, besides they needed to travel lightly.

Once he had all the food packaged he took them to the Lobby, where he deposited everything. Kishio went upstairs to supervise. Now that she was away Mitsuhiko took the time to go to Yurie's room. "Yurie, we're getting out of here. Gather everything you may need and please wait here for me to come, alright?"

"How are we going to escape?" she asked.

"...I don't know. Kishio-sensei will deal with that. I'll be back when it's time!" he was happy and it wasn't hard to see it. Yurie smiled, feeling better, and saw him go. Mitsuhiko went throughout the whole building, gathering little objects and stuff that could come useful. Weapons for everybody, trinkets for survival, everything they'd need. From time to time he encountered other commanders but all they did was nod to each other and focus on their tasks.

Almost an hour after the breakfast meeting Mitsuhiko had finished. Just when he tied the last package Kishio appeared in the Lobby. "Well done, Hikari-kun. Please get everybody who's outside and here in the first floor and go upstairs" she requested before going towards the Second Floor. The hunter accepted the task and left the building, walking around the courtyard.

He found Mimori and Koshimizu in the Back Courtyard. "It's time. We're going onto the roof!" he informed them. The journalist and the medic shared his excitement, walking briskly back into the building.

"Has Oyama-san been taken upstairs yet?" Koshimizu asked, opening the door. Mimori took some of the packages to carry them.

"Not yet. I thought it'd be good to get you guys first. I'll go now" Mitsuhiko answered.

"I'll go with you. I'll carry her while you carry the wheelchair" he offered. Thanking him for his offered help they went into Camp Monobear.

They had only gotten in it when the fire started.

Suddenly, a whooshing sound echoed in Camp Monobear and an orange glow shined on the walls. There was fire in the hallway towards the Cafeteria! "Oh my god!" Mitsuhiko exclaimed, clearly not having expected such thing to happen. He immediately ran towards Yurie's bedroom to lead her away. That fire could spread to the bedrooms! "Yurie, we need to...where is she? Where is she?! Yurie!" Yurie wasn't in her bedroom. Mitsuhiko shouted her name over and over but nobody answered.

Koshimizu arrived shortly after him and surveyed the bedroom. "The wheelchair is not here. She can't have gone far" Sudden steps sounded from the hallway, Mimori appearing. She had ran as well, having heard Mitsuhiko's cries.

"What's going on in here?!"

"Oyama-san is missing" Koshimizu answered quite calmly but the way his hands shook showed he was repressing his panic "Have you seen her?"

"I only got to Camp Lily before I heard you" that wasn't an answer but nobody cared. Mitsuhiko pushed her aside, still shouting Yurie's name.

"Yurie, answer me! Yurie!" There was still no answer. Suddenly, as if griped by a bad feeling, he bolted towards the fire. Mitsuhiko ignored Koshimizu's warnings that it was dangerous, he had to make sure that bad feeling wasn't true.

The fire had covered the walls and the floor. It roared and expelled a lot of heat but it was contained in one single place. "Why aren't the sprinklers activated?!" Mimori had gotten behind him, pulling him back. The hunter didn't care about the freaking sprinklers; he just had to make sure!

His eyes stung due to the smoke and the heat but he didn't stop looking at the fire. He could vaguely see a shape in middle of the fire. "Yurie! Yu...no...nononono..." he wailed. There was no confirmation that was Yurie or even a person but in his mind he could only thing of one thing: where else would Yurie be? He would have seen her cross the Lobby; he had been preparing the survival packages in there! Yurie couldn't be anywhere else than in that fire or...in the Cafeteria. He prayed she really was in the Cafeteria, but when she didn't she answer to his shouts?

"Step aside" Koshimizu ordered. He had brought a fire extinguisher, but in that moment a very loud shriek sounded. It sounded like it was one of the female commanders and it came from the floors above them. A sudden flash of fire appeared outside, barely seen through the only window in the hallway. "What was that?!"

"I'll check!" Mimori said, running towards the Lobby. Mitsuhiko didn't move, instead snatching the extinguisher from Koshimizu's hands and using it on the fire. He ignored the intense heat; he ignored the burns that were starting to appear on his skin and clothes. It was a grueling job but after a couple minutes the flames started to die down, revealing what was in there.

The wheelchair was in a very bad state, just like expected. In fact, the wheels had melted, the metal was warped and the leather was singed and shredded. However Mitsuhiko could only watch the person on the wheelchair. He froze, unable to look away. Koshimizu took the extinguisher back to finish getting rid of the fire. "The sprinklers are up here, why didn't they work..." he murmured but the hunter didn't answer.

The person on the wheelchair was...unrecognizable. Their skin was charred and blackened, destroyed by the intense heat and the fire. Their hair was completely burned, and the clothes were now faded and burned. Mitsuhiko had the faint hopes this wasn't Yurie, maybe it was some other person! "A body has been discovered! After a short investigation..." the announcement sounded. It was unmistakable; it was the bear's voice. And mere seconds later: "A body has been discovered!" Mitsuhiko tuned out to the rest.

"Two? There are two..." Koshimizu had finished getting rid of the fire. Spurred by the new announcement he looked through the window. And there he saw the other body.

It was on fire too but the setting was...strange. The body was suspended on a cable from the fence, fire enveloping the corpse. Most of the commanders were out there, trying to extinguish the fire on the corpse, but they hadn't progressed very much. In that moment the cable snapped, the body falling on the grass. Koshimizu jumped through the window to help before the fire spread throughout the Courtyard and towards the commanders.

Mitsuhiko watched from the hallway how the Medical Demon got rid of the fire, revealing another unrecognizable body. It was even more destroyed than the one on the wheelchair, mainly because this second body had been wrapped in flames. The hunter felt numb and looked at the commanders, as if he hoped Yurie had recovered the use of her legs and was now outside with them.

There was a large mirror set on the Courtyard and aiming towards the wall because it was as an angle. Further from that, near the fence, the commanders were gathered. He recognized everybody outside. Mimori was crying in fear and despair, terrified due to the horrifying deaths that had happened. Romi was in a state of shock, staring at the corpse. Koshimizu was taking deep breaths, not even he was calm. Kobayashi, Sasuga and Hasegawa were walking in circles, saying stuff Mitsuhiko couldn't hear, but they were clearly panicking. In that moment Mitsuhiko felt his heart jump to his throat.

Sugita wasn't among the commanders outside. Did that mean she was...that...charred corpse? In that moment his ID vibrated, having received the Monobear files. He opened them and received the final confirmation of who the dead bodies were. He realized that there were actually two people he hadn't seen outside and felt horrible for having forgotten about her.

Yurie Oyama and Sumida Kishio were dead.


	28. Chapter 4: Hellfire - Abnormal Days

Seeing the two Monobear files was the confirmation of the deaths. Mitsuhiko slowly slid from the window to the floor, his pants getting stained with soot and ashes. He knew there was an investigation to be done but it wasn't something he could do and hope for the best. This wasn't a mere commander he met in these headquarters a week and half ago. This had been his girlfriend, his fiancée, the person he had chosen to spend his life with.

Nobody could expect it to be easy.

But in the end he had to do it. Monobear wasn't going to give him time to mourn to his heart's content. If he didn't do something then the trial would happen and then they'd all die. And while that was what Yurie would have wanted, except that now Mitsuhiko was among the people who could die.

Oh, and Kishio had died too. Mitsuhiko's opinion to her had greatly diminished during the time he had been in the same building than her. However he had to honor the person he had thought she was. It wasn't fueled by love like his pain for Yurie was and to some people that meant she was much less important than Yurie's death, but there'd be a trial for her death too. It was his duty to find the truth for both of these women.

"Are you okay, Hikari-kun?"

Kobayashi had entered and approached him. The illusionist was standing to his side, holding his hand forward to help Mitsuhiko stand up. The hunter didn't take it, though. "No, I'm not okay, you dumbass" Kobayashi retracted his hand, uncomfortable.

"...I'm sorry for your loss"

"Wow, that makes me feel soooo better. Amy has given me his condolences. Thank you for your empty words" Mitsuhiko knew he shouldn't be so bitter but he felt he had to somehow pour all the pain he was feeling, to steel himself for what was going to come and leave Yurie's death behind. Lashing out at Kobayashi wasn't the way but there was nothing else to be done. Kobayashi gritted his teeth and endured Mitsuhiko's vitriol.

"It's not empty. I'm serious"

"Why don't you go fuck yourself, Amy? Don't you have anything better to do?"

Kobayashi turned around and decided to go back outside to work on Kishio's crime scene. It was impossible to do anything with the hunter lashing out at anybody who came close. But Mitsuhiko wasn't done. Even if nobody was around he continued grunting in pain and sorrow, muttering everything he had wanted to say to Yurie. It wasn't all nice stuff like some people would have thought. Half of everything Mitsuhiko was saying was insults to Yurie for everything she had done to ruin his life. "...destroying everything I had worked for. I was a stupid teenager, what did I know?! What gave you the right to take my parents' lives?! Yurie, you bitch, you should have stayed away of me. I shouldn't have ever talked to you!" The rage he felt when he knew the truth, how she didn't love him, all that, was shouted at the walls and to Yurie's corpse.

...soon he ran out of furious words to shout. Slowly his screams turned into whispers, because even if she had betrayed him without him ever knowing, even if she had twisted him into a hitman who was only good to serve somebody he had only seen once in his life...he had loved her. "...I would have forgiven you... because I know that now, even if it was only in the recent times...I was important for you..."

Mitsuhiko had no idea how much time passed in his despair. His steps had disturbed the soot and moved the remains of the melted wheels but he was at least now...satisfied. Maybe SHSL Despair was like that because they could never let all that despair out just like he just did. Maybe Enoshima had made them keep it bottled until it consumed them, turning them into the monsters they were known as. He didn't know.

But he was satisfied now. He had grieved, shouted all his pain out and although it still hurt he could at least focus on something else now.

**Monobear File #4.1**

_Victim: Yurie Oyama, codename: Zagan_

_Location of the Body: Cafeteria Hallway_

**Monobear File #4.2**

_Victim: Sumida Kishio, codename: Alocas_

_Location of the Body: Courtyard_

"These are some lousy files. Not helpful at all" he commented aloud. A voice sounded from Camp Monobear, having heard him.

"That's wrong, Hikari-kun. They're pretty useful" Mimori had arrived "Are you done howling and talking to yourself? If so then maybe we can work together to solve this"

"Don't talk about what I did or didn't do. Let's get onto the investigation. Why are they useful?"

"Isn't it interesting how they don't mention the cause of death? Anybody would think they were burned to death but this hints there was some other way they were killed"

It was a small relief that Yurie hadn't suffered the pain and agony of the flames slowly killing her. Oh, and Kishio didn't either, that was good too. Of course, without any concrete proof, they couldn't say it with certainty. "Then how did they die? I'm not going to prod their bodies to find out. They look like they would...they would...disintegrate as soon as anybody touches them"

"Koshimizu-san is performing autopsies. He was the one to point how the files could be useful. Here, check his finding of Kishio's cause of death" Mimori flipped some pages of her notebook and passed it to Mitsuhiko, who read it intently.

_'_ _The cranium depicts an area with less firmness than the rest of the head. Potential cranium fracture. While I can_ _'_ _t confirm it without cutting her head open I theorize Kishio-sensei_ _'_ _s head got hit with a blunt object of some sorts. The fire has eliminated any traces that could hint what was used to bludgeon her_ _'_

"Is he sure about this?"

"I wrote his exact words about the autopsy but left out the rest. He said something like 'I'm a doctor, not a forensic examiner' but he's also sixty percent sure of what he was saying"

"Sixty. That's no good" Still, it was better than nothing.

**Kishio** **'** **s Cranium Fracture**

_It_ _'_ _s theorized Kishio got bludgeoned before her body was set on fire. The body has no clues about what exact object was used for this purpose._

"Anything else to note about the body?"

"Not really but there is something I did notice when I was going to see what was going on. I was the first to find Kishio-sensei's corpse so I know what I'm talking about here" Mimori gestured at the Courtyard "When I got there everything was undisturbed. Not a single blade of grass was out of place"

"...I'm not sure if that's meaningful in any way"

"Look, you don't think Kishio fell from the sky onto that fence, do you? Somebody must have placed her there"

Now Mitsuhiko was beginning to understand why that got Mimori's attention. Kishio must have been hung from the fence during the time the fire started but Mitsuhiko hadn't seen anybody when he was looking for people in the first floor and the Courtyard. In fact, now that he thought about it, he had seen the mirror from the side, making it difficult to see, but there was nobody in there. There had been no place to hide in, either. It was simply impossible anybody was nearby. _Then how did Kishio get in there?_

**Undisturbed Grass**

_It_ _'_ _s impossible for anybody to have walked on the Courtyard from the time Mitsuhiko checked to the time Kishio_ _'_ _s corpse was found._

"That is certainly strange. Any idea of how that could happen?"

"I'm blank. Sorry, Hikari-kun, I simply can't think of a way" Well that was of no help. It was time to see what could be found in this crime scene and then go to the one outside, but before either of them could approach Yurie's body Koshimizu arrived.

"Hope you don't mind me doing the autopsy now" he said bluntly. Mitsuhiko's first thought was demand Koshimizu to keep his grubby hands away of Yurie's corpse but he was the only person that could find out something from that body. If he didn't let the medic take a look then there'd be no progress.

"Go ahead" Mitsuhiko stepped aside. Koshimizu's face showed no expression but the way his hands shook showed how stressed he was. He carefully touched Yurie's skin, moving his fingers and looking for any important details. "...burning the bodies, who would do this? When I thought this couldn't get more brutal..." he murmured while working. The horrible state of both victims had certainly unsettled everybody. _And the only person I haven_ _'_ _t seen yet is Kimiko. Where is she?_

"Eureka. I just found something" Koshimizu stepped aside, not feeling like celebrating "It doesn't make her death any prettier, though"

"Did you find a cause of death?" Mimori inquired.

"Don't get me wrong, it's possible Kishio-sensei didn't die bludgeoned but I'm sure Oyama-san didn't survive this wound. It is...it is disturbing" Koshimizu suppressed the urge to vomit "Hikari-kun, you may want to go away while I tell Mimori-san what to write. This won't be pretty at all"

"I have to see, Koshimizu-san. I need to know everything so I can catch the culprit" Mitsuhiko replied in a way that showed he wouldn't change his mind. Koshimizu didn't seem happy with that, though. He sighed and looked at his hands, seeing how the skin of those carbonized bodies had left residues on his fingers.

"...I tried to spare you the horrible truth of her death. Don't blame me for what you'll see" Koshimizu put his hands on the top of Yurie's head. What he'd do now was something that'd stay in Mitsuhiko's nightmares for the rest of his life.

The top of Yurie's head was slowly pushed to a side as if it were a stone slab covering a hole on the floor. It happened without any problems until it was moved halfway. Koshimizu stopped, having a clear sight of the inside of Yurie's head. "I'm done. I'm done, done, done, done. Excuse me" It was the first time Mimori or Mitsuhiko saw Koshimizu so affected by anything that happened in the Headquarters. The Medical Demon hurried to one of the public bathrooms, slamming the door behind him. It took quite a while for him to come back out.

Mimori was the one to put the top of Yurie's head back to its normal position, although it was obvious she had great difficulty on doing so. Nobody in their right mind would want to touch her corpse. "...what the heck was that..." Mitsuhiko asked, almost unheard.

"I don't know but I feel pity for Oyama-san. She didn't deserve any of this" Although Mimori didn't like Yurie since the first time they met in the first day of the lockdown she had to agree this was a very brutal way to die.

"How is it possible somebody had a weapon that caused this? That's what I don't understand. Do you know how hard it is to cut bone? It's not as brittle as you may lead to think. You'd need special tools or a lot of strength to completely sever bone"

"Not only that, the cut was also abnormally clean. Did you see how Koshimizu-san moved the top of her head? It was like...like..." Mimori had no description for that.

**Yurie** **'** **s Mortal Wound**

_The top third of Yurie_ _'_ _s skull and head was cleanly cut. The cut went as deep as to the other side of Yurie_ _'_ _s head._

"Stop talking about that!" Mitsuhiko couldn't take it anymore "Let me see what else is there to find, okay?" He had enough about Yurie's corpse for now. There were other things to check. For example, what was that weird smell? "Do you smell something?"

"Besides the smell of charred flesh?" Mimori wrinkled her nose "Heck no"

"No, there's something else...I have smelled it before but I don't remember where" the smell was pungent and disgusting but had a clear chemical quality Mitsuhiko recognized from somewhere. I'm sure I recently smelled this but where?

"Fires don't happen randomly. Maybe what you smell is the catalyst, you know, like fuel to make the fire happen" Mimori pointed.

"You must be right. Maybe if I can pinpoint the main component of the catalyst we can have a valuable clue" The problem was that he had no idea how to describe the smell. Unless Mimori spent her free time huffing the content of diverse chemicals it wasn't like she'd be able to help "I think we should check the Chemistry Laboratory for more clues"

"Again the Chemistry Laboratory? That place has been related to the crimes three times already"

"I know. I don't get its appeal either. Must be some kind of joke from some god or something" Mitsuhiko looked at the ceiling and mumbled "A joke from some chemistry-obsessed person who lacks originality and wants to shoehorn her interests in the game. It's not funny"

"...what was that?"

"Nothing you should be concerned about. Let's continue"

**Chemical Smell**

_A smell coming from the ashes and remains of the fire in the Cafeteria Hallway. Somehow familiar but...from where?_

Unfortunately the fact the crime was simple and straightforward meant there was not a lot of evidence to find. Besides, even if there were, the fire would have destroyed most of it. "There's nothing here!" Mimori refused to approach the body. Mitsuhiko was a bit more daring but even then he really didn't want to look at Yurie.

"I can't find anything either. I think we have done everything we could. Sorry, Yurie" How were they supposed to catch Yurie's killer with so little evidence?

"Why do you think she was going to the Cafeteria? Kishio-sensei clearly said to not to go there"

"Yurie wasn't there the moment that was said. I suppose she was going for breakfast or something" If Mitsuhiko had taken the time to tell Yurie about what Kishio had said then maybe she wouldn't have died. That thought made Mitsuhiko hurt, knowing this may have been prevented easily.

But now that he thought about that...about Yurie going to the Cafeteria...didn't this hallway have a certain trait? That's right! It was slightly sloped, enough for the wheelchair to go forward. Maybe Yurie was murdered and then left to roll forward into the fire or something like that. It was possible.

**Cafeteria Hallway Slope**

_The hallway is sloped almost imperceptibly, just enough for the wheelchair to roll. It_ _'_ _s not noticeable otherwise._

"Did you see something that could be a hint, Mimori-san?"

"I didn't notice anything odd before the fires happened, if that's what you're wondering, but there IS something strange. Do you remember what made me go outside to see what was going on? Before that I think I heard a scream"

Mimori was right. A woman had screamed before fire flashed outside. That fire must have been the moment Kishio was set on fire, but then what was that scream? Kishio's last breath? That was possible.

**Mitsuhiko** **'** **s Testimony**

_Just after Yurie was found there was a female scream coming from somewhere above them. There was also an orange flash outside almost immediately after the scream. Mimori and Koshimizu can testify the same._

"I think that's all we'll see here. We have almost no evidence about this murder so we'll have to rely on Kishio-sensei's death to have enough evidence to convict somebody" Mimori said while she and the hunter were going outside.

"Have you considered there may be two different killers?" Koshimizu came out of the bathroom while they were passing along. Mitsuhiko considered the question and shook his head, it seemed unlikely.

"Two different killers having the same way to kill people? It's more likely there's one single culprit"

"I don't know, Koshimizu-san has a point. The Cafeteria Hallway and the Courtyard are close by but I don't think a single person could kill Yurie and then set fire to Kishio-sensei" Mimori piped up. Koshimizu smirked, satisfied to have somebody backing him up. Mitsuhiko had to acknowledge that was a good point but there was another problem, which he voiced aloud:

"I went around reuniting anybody in this floor and outside to go to the Lookout. There was nobody else other than us three and it's impossible any of us killed Yurie or Kishio-sensei" _Unless there was a seriously convoluted way to kill them I can_ _'_ _t see Koshimizu-san or Mimori-san as a culprit._

The second crime scene, Kishio's body, was alone when they arrived there. Everybody else had gone back inside to the upper floors so they were free to investigate to their hearts' content. None of them wanted to approach the corpse, though. The stench was unbearable and once again had that chemical scent Mitsuhiko had detected where Yurie died. It definitely was the catalyst or one of its components, there was nothing else it could be.

"Fuck this. I'll get over this now" Mimori swallowed nervously and approached, ready to try to find out any clues. Meanwhile Mitsuhiko focused on the mirror. It was placed in front of the window to the Cafeteria Hallway, which was open. It was positioned in an angle, seemingly pointing at the window that led to the Lounge.

"Where did this mirror come from?"

"I think it came from the Theater. There are full-body mirrors like this one" Koshimizu answered "What I don't understand is why it's here" _Because it_ _'_ _s related to the murders in some way, why else._

**Mirror**

_A large mirror in the Courtyard, facing the window to the Cafeteria Hallway. It_ _'_ _s in an angle, facing directly at the window to the Lounge in the second floor._

"...well that was it" There was nothing else to be seen that wasn't the body. Mitsuhiko gathered his resolve to solve the case and turned to see it, approaching Mimori."So what did you find?"

"This" Mimori had managed to peel off a large mass of plastic. It had pieces of Kishio's burned clothes on it, at least Mitsuhiko hoped those were clothes and not flesh. "It was in her...her pocket? I don't know, there are no pockets anymore"

"It's something, at least" The smell was obviously present on the plastic, as expected from something that was in contact with something doused in catalyst "Get it to the trial later, okay?"

"Me?!" Mimori let it fall to the ground, repulsed "Why don't you do that?"

"Because I don't want to! Look at that thing, it's...so gross..." Mitsuhiko definitely didn't want to carry it around. Who would want to?

**Melted Plastic**

_A heap of clear plastic Kishio had with her. It_ _'_ _s unknown what it was before it was melted._

"That's it, I'm over with this. I'll go inside and take a long shower because there's no way I'll investigate any longer" Mimori stomped away, leaving the plastic behind. Koshimizu had left home, gone to unknown places. Mitsuhiko understood very well how they must be feeling, these murders were nightmares compared to everything that had happened so far in the Headquarters. If it weren't because Yurie was one of the victims it was possible he'd have done the same than then.

Holding back the urge to groan in disgust Mitsuhiko walked around the body. From what he saw it seemed the cable it had been hanging from was tied around her feet. Looking upwards to the top of the fence he saw the rest of the cable, but much to his surprise it wasn't tied to the top of the fence like he expected.

Instead it extended beyond it, getting to a nearby tall tree at the other side of the fence. Mitsuhiko couldn't see very well but it seemed like the cable was...tied to a branch of the tree? Or to the trunk? The cable was attached in some way to that tree that was for sure.

**Cable (Courtyard)**

_A long black cable that snapped from the fire that consumed Kishio_ _'_ _s body. Part of it ties together Kishio_ _'_ _s feet; the rest is hanging from a tree on the other side of the fence._

"That is all I'm going to find here" Mitsuhiko decided. He definitely didn't wish to spend one second more near any of the burned corpses. The hunter practically ran back inside and once he was in the Lobby, away of the stench that filled the crime scenes he sat on the stairs.

The best thing to do was to check the upper floors. That's where the scream came from and Kishio had asked everybody to go the Lookout, so there must have been something interesting to see up there. However, before he could stand up to go upstairs, a commotion sounded, approaching. When he stood up to see what was going on most of the commanders appeared, and among them was a person in a situation he never thought he'd see.

Sugita had her arms held in front of her but that wasn't what got Mitsuhiko's attention in the first place. It was the blood that was splattered across her face and clothes. It didn't seem like she was wounded, though, then what was going on? The group led Sugita downstairs, towards the Infirmary. When they passed where Mitsuhiko was the hunter saw another detail that greatly disturbed him.

Her hands were pretty burned. Of course it wasn't to the extent of the burns the corpses had, but there were several blisters on the palms and fingers. The skin was also reddened and delicate, it was obvious it was painful and must be very uncomfortable for her. That's why Mitsuhiko couldn't understand how her face showed no expression at all, as if she didn't even feel it. "What the hell is going on here?!" he exclaimed. Kobayashi, who was the last one in the group, stayed behind to inform Mitsuhiko.

"We found her upstairs, trying to descend into the Third Floor. When she saw me she tried to run away. That was suspicious so I followed her and that's when I saw the blood she had on her"

"Well yeah..."

"Somebody with blood and without a wound looks very suspicious, don't you think?"

"Are you trying to tell me Kimiko is the main suspect for the murders?" Mitsuhiko's voice trembled from the outrage. Sugita, killing Yurie and Kishio? That wasn't right, surely there was something else going on. Kobayashi twiddled his fingers, mulling how to say it.

"...the burns and the blood are pretty conclusive, I think. She must have done it; she must have killed at least one of them" the illusionist got to the hallway to the Infirmary "Koshimizu-san will deal with the burns. I know you two are friends but I hope it won't...stop you from being...as good in the trials as you always are. It's very unlikely she isn't guilty" Kobayashi notified he was going to guard Sugita until the trial started but until then it wasn't likely they'd allow Mitsuhiko to see her.

This day was a nightmare. The escape plan is destroyed, Yurie is murdered and Sugita is the main suspect? What else could go wrong?!

**Kimiko Sugita**

_Sugita_ _'_ _s hands showed signs of being exposed to fire or, at the very least, to great temperatures. She was caught in the Fourth Floor stairs, covered in blood and without any wounds._

Now Mitsuhiko had once another incentive to solve the murder. He wasn't going to be as stubborn as to refuse Sugita was innocent, if there was proof she did it then he was going to pursue her conviction, but until then he really wanted to think she was innocent. To find evidence he ascended to the Third Floor, to his first stop.

The Chemistry Laboratory was the first place to check. After all a catalyst was used to cause the fires, it's to be expected there may be clues in there. As soon as he entered he went straight to the cabinet to see if there was a glaring lack of anything. His gut feeling was correct, something was missing. What he didn't understand was how significant that was.

The bottle of Luminol he had used the day before was missing. Was Luminol flammable? If he remembered correctly it wasn't. But it being missing added another piece to the puzzle of the murder, after all now he remembered where that strange chemical smell had been. The ashes and bodies reeked of Luminol!

The plastic Kishio had...maybe that was the bottle! Mitsuhiko remembered the Luminol had been on a clear plastic bottle. What if it was? No, it was very likely it was!

The hunter, connecting the dots, turned around in a hurry and found once another thing to pay attention too. There were two bottles more on the counter, both of them empty. Only one seemed to belong to the laboratory. Mitsuhiko took them and examined the labels. One said 'Ethanol'. A common thing to find in a laboratory and in a hundred places more, but the second bottle was a bit more intriguing.

Canola oil.

It didn't take long to understand what was going on

**Catalyst**

_A mix of Luminol, ethanol and canola oil. It was mixed and stored in a Luminol bottle, which was in turn found melted with Kishio_ _'_ _s body. The remains of the fires smell like Luminol._

A further check of the Chemistry Laboratory revealed nothing useful, so he went to the next door, the Biology Laboratory. Although Mitsuhiko looked around (and was relieved to confirm there were no more animal corpses around) there was nothing to be found. The Physics Laboratory was next and unlike the second one this time there was something potentially meaningful in plain sight.

 _Of course!_ The Death Ray was aiming to the window. However it was too far from the window to aim towards anything close to the fence or the Headquarters, there was no way it could hit Kishio. Mitsuhiko approached the window and on the floor found something that could be useful: wheel tracks. Wasn't this machine closer to the window before? He remembered it was. The Death Ray had wheels in its base; it was possible it was pushed away.

Excited, Mitsuhiko fiddled around with the Death Ray controls but didn't manage to turn it on. It seemed like it was completely useless but surely there was some way to turn it on, wasn't there? It was also pretty cold, for some reason. Aren't lasers hot in some way?

**Death Ray**

_A huge laser machine located in the Physics Laboratory. It doesn_ _'_ _t work, apparently. It was originally closer to the window than where it was found. It_ _'_ _s freezing cold_

But despite the potential evidence to be found it didn't seem like anything else from the Physics Laboratory was involved with the crime. As a last thing to do Mitsuhiko peered through the window of the laboratory and found something curious: the window was directly above the Lounge window...which was in turn above the Cafeteria Hallway window. The hunter could clearly see the mirror, but no reflection could be seen from this point. _Curious..._

The Astronomy Laboratory was the last place to check. This time ALL the solar systems had been dismantled, it was very likely to be the source of the cable, but other than that there was nothing.

It was time to move to the Fourth Floor. The first thing Mitsuhiko did was move to the Principal's Office and its adjacent doors. There he found one, the one he remembered took to Monobear's controls...didn't Kishio say she had locked it with a padlock? Well there was a padlock but the problem was that it was on the table now. The key was just to its side. _Wait a second_... Mitsuhiko took the key from the table, looking at it closer. It was almost unnoticeable but there was a single drop of blood on it. _Could it be that Kishio-sensei was murdered by a Main Board member to obtain this key or to stop the escape?_ It was something to consider.

But if the key and padlock were here than it meant the Monobear control room was open. Mitsuhiko went to the door and pushed but the door didn't budge. It seemed like there was something big and heavy blocking it from the other side. "I know one of you guys is in there" the hunter said aloud "Valkyrie, Vieiras, that other guy. One of you is in here. I know the Main Board aren't kidnapped, it's you"

There was silence for a moment before a male deep voice sounded from inside the room. "And can you prove it?" Mitsuhiko definitely didn't expect a reply, much less one that sounded like a confirmation of his suspicions.

"...I can't. But it's matter of time before somebody in this building can prove it. Let us go and you may be forgiven"

There wasn't any need to wait before the next reply. Instead, a chuckle very similar to the ones Mitsuhiko was used to hear from Monobear preluded their reply. That masculine voice had now turned into a syrupy tone that gave Mitsuhiko shivers "I'm not a girl who tends to bet but if I were I wouldn't count on that. Show us what you're made of, Hikari-kuuuuuun, we'll be waitiiiiiiiing"

After that there were no more replies. Mitsuhiko spent a while trying to goad the person inside to show themselves or to accidentally reveal something that could be useful but nothing happened. Giving up on that the hunter decided continuing the investigation was a better use of his time.

It didn't take long before he found a very valuable piece of evidence. On the floor of the Security Room, just in front of the console, was blood...and splinters. Something large and heavy made of wood had broken here, as there were a few pieces of wood as big as his fingers. Other than that the Security Room was empty.

**Blood and Splinters**

_In the Security Room, in front of the console, there was blood and splinters of some wooden object._

Although it had been a source of frustration the day before Mitsuhiko was now happy the upper floors didn't have as many places as the other floors. That meant it wouldn't take as long to find stuff. The Archery Range had nothing worthwhile, but the storage of that place showed something had changed. The crossbow Mitsuhiko had seen the day before was now gone. _I haven_ _'_ _t seen it but...I have a feeling..._

The Lookout was the last place to check in that floor. Kishio had wanted them to be here, after all, surely there could be stuff that revealed why. He wasn't disappointed; as soon as he entered he found a lot of stuff that showed Kishio had indeed planned something.

The missing crossbow was in plain sight. Mitsuhiko picked it up, examining it. There was no doubt that the splinters he had found were from the crossbow, it was almost cracked in half. Not only that, there was blood on the wood. _I see...so that_ _'_ _s what happened. But how did Kishio-sensei...?_

**Broken Crossbow**

_A crossbow almost broken in half due to a strong impact. It has blood and hair on the point where it cracked._

"Okay, what were you planning, dear leader?" Mitsuhiko mused, looking around. There were other objects on the floor. The closest one to the crossbow was a lighter. It was...strangely hot. Not enough to burn Mitsuhiko's skin but it was enough to be uncomfortable. _This may belong to the culprit._ Despite that it didn't have any distinguishable marks.

**Lighter**

_A lighter, generic and unremarkable. Found in the Lookout_

The lighter didn't seem related to Kishio's plans, though. It didn't seem likely it could help anybody to escape.

On a side of the balcony there was a pile of what seemed to be long rods of wood with a wide round indentation in middle. It was large and strangely smooth, carefully done. "What are these for? These definitely weren't here yesterday when I explored this floor" It didn't seem like they could be useful in any way and there was nothing that connected it to the murders...

...at least no obvious way. It was perfectly possible these wooden rods were part of a cunning plan and he just couldn't see it yet. At this point he was used to thinking the worst on this regard. Just in case maybe it'd be a good idea to keep one of those rods.

**Wooden Rods**

_A small wooden rod with a wide round indentation in middle. There were several on them piled on a side of the Lookout_

As soon as he picked one up a familiar chime sounded through the speakers. Monobear wanted to say something. "Trial. Meeting Room. Be there, everybody". He was...strangely blunt. Not only that, he also sounded annoyed, like something wasn't going according to the plan. Feeling satisfaction at Monobear's bad mood Mitsuhiko turned around to leave the Lookout when he felt something brushing his scalp. Looking upwards he saw part of a cable.

Somebody had tried to hide a large bundle of cable on the Roof. Mitsuhiko pulled from it until he recovered all of it, confirming it was dozens of meters long. One end of it was strongly tied onto a small fence on the Roof; the other end was cut with some sort of sharp tool. There was no time for a throughout examination, so Mitsuhiko hurriedly took a look and left it back where he found it.

**Cable (Roof)**

_Many cables tied together, reaching a few dozens of meters. Strongly attached to the Roof, one end of it was cut._

But he still had no idea what was Kishio's plan. Just what was he trying to do? Mitsuhiko peered to the Courtyard to give Kishio one last look. There was her corpse...directly in front of the Lookout. And under the Lookout was the Physics Laboratory window, the Lounge window and the Cafeteria Hallway window. This couldn't be a coincidence.

And...right to the front of him, at the other side of the fence, was the tree the rest of the cable was tied to. In that moment he finally understood what Kishio had been planning to do, why she had asked all of them to be in this place. _Way to go, Kishio-sensei. Maybe this would have worked if you or Yurie hadn_ _'_ _t died._

The surviving commanders gathered in the Meeting Room. Monobear was already there, immobile in his chair. After everybody sat, Sugita already cleaned up and with her hands heavily bandaged, Monobear let out an audible sigh of annoyance. "I'm pissed off with all of you. So. Pissed. Off"

"...really?" Kobayashi said tentatively, afraid of the bear lashing out and tearing everybody's faces off.

"What the fucking hell was that fire attempt?! Are you trying to kill us all?! That fire could have spread everywhere in the building! You idiots could have doomed your own lives in the most idiotic and least despair-filled way possible!"

Mitsuhiko had to disagree. If the fire had spread and nobody had escaped he was sure everybody would have despaired, perhaps more than at any other point. Then why was Monobear so angry? "If the sprinklers had worked the fire wouldn't have happened" Romi pointed.

"The sprinklers would have worked if they hadn't been disabled in the first place! Which one of you did it? Say it now!"

"I did" Lily, who until that point had been absent, strolled into the Meeting Room "These people don't have anything to do with the escape attempt, Monobear. Kishio-sensei planned it all and since she's dead you can't punish her for damaging the building. Let it go"

"I should punish you for damaging the sprinklers" Monobear growled, jumping off his throne and glaring at Lily. The robot girl wasn't intimidated, though. She once again prepared her weapon to defend herself. The commanders, knowing that being on the path of her lasers wasn't a good idea, made sure to be away of the range of fire.

"Go ahead. We both know our resources are limited. This is my last body; you're on your last body. It has always been like that, one single spare body. If I kill you right now the game will end and you'll be forced to show yourself"

"But you won't..." the bear said but didn't make any attempt to attack. Lily nodded, smiling slightly.

"I have concrete orders of not attacking you. My directives are final and I won't disobey them. And you know it's against your best interests to kill me, too. If you kill me do you think Master will stop and do nothing else? They'll create me again, and once they do...Diavolos Avante as a whole will fall"

That was definitely a threat. There was a tense silence for a couple minutes while Lily and Monobear measured each other's will to finish the whole feud with the destruction of their foe, consequences be damned. But finally Monobear stepped away, his eye glowing menacingly. "Fine. I will let it go, if only because I'm confident this trial is going to settle everything once and for all. We'll see if you're smiling so smugly at the end of the day"

"...so...are we ready?" Mimori tentatively inquired, returning to her seat.

"I think we are. Whenever you're ready, Monobear" Romi requested. Monobear yelled the trial for the murders of Yurie Oyama and Sumida Kishio was starting now but Mitsuhiko was more worried at everybody's emotional state and situation.

The only people he was sure would be unlikely to have anything to do with the murder were Koshimizu and Mimori. Sugita's eyes were tightly closed and her body was trembling, it was obvious she was under great stress. Sasuga was rubbing her arm, whispering calming words that didn't seem to be working. Romi was indifferent at the situation but the way she moved her eyes showed she had no idea what was going on...apparently. Kobayashi was an expert in mirrors, tricks and illusions, if there was anybody who could create a complicated plan to kill it'd be him. Hasegawa...he had only seen her during breakfast. Where had she been? Right now she was making sure to not to make eye contact with anybody.

Who was the culprit of those two deaths? Or was there more than one culprit? The number of clues pointing at people was pretty low, he had no idea who had done what.

...was he going to fail? Mitsuhiko grit his teeth, trying to calm himself down. _I can_ _'_ _t look away and do nothing. I don_ _'_ _t know what happened but this trial is to find out who did it. I_ _'_ _ll just have to connect the dots. I can do it._

_Help me, Yurie, wherever you are please watch over me. I_ _'_ _m scared._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Say, I have planned dozens of cases. Not only for this series, but also for future stories I plan to write, involving other fandoms and stuff. I have so many cases planned I think I have enough for quite a long time.
> 
> This one may be my favorite among all of them. I think I have something real good here with this whole chapter. There are so many details, big and little, I have planned for this chapter I'm anxious to finish writing it. Well, not literally. I don't think I'll be in a hurry, hahaha...
> 
> I hope everybody likes this case as much as I do.


	29. Chapter 4: Hellfire - Trial I

The trial had started. With Lily on one end of the table and Monobear in the other all the commanders in the Meeting Room felt the robots' glares. Whatever conclusion they reached during the trial would influence everything, they could feel that. Mitsuhiko himself was starting to get antsy, he didn't have the slightest idea of who had done it but if they somehow managed to pinpoint the culprit...would that lead to anything good?

He felt like they were all screwed, no matter what happened. Still, the trial needed to happen so he took the leadership for now. "As we all know there are two victims this time. Yurie, in the Cafeteria Hallway, and Kishio-sensei, in the Courtyard. The first thing we should define is how many culprits are there: were both murders done by one person or are there multiple culprits?"

"Can there even be multiple culprits?" Hasegawa inquired. Indeed, that was a very important point "Monobear, what happens if two people kill different victims?"

"A trial will be held, of course! And it's up to you bastards to pinpoint all the culprits' names. If there are more than one culprit and you fail to vote for all of them it'll count as a fail" the bear explained as if it was painfully obvious.

"And who will go free?"

"If you fail to catch all the culprits _all of them_ will leave"

"That's so fucking unfair I'm frankly astonished" Romi buried her face in her hands "So we either catch both culprits"

"IF there are two culprits. There could be only one" Hasegawa clarified. The hunter nodded, it seemed like the trial wouldn't go anywhere unless they decided how many culprits existed. That'd be the very first discussion point now; the problem was how to deduce the right number.

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Chemical Smell / Wooden Rods / Cafeteria Hallway Slope / Undisturbed Grass / Kishio_ _'_ _s Cranium Fracture_

* * *

HASEGAWA: The bodies are located pretty close of each other

HASEGAWA: The hallway is mere feet away of Kishio-sensei's corpse.

HASEGAWA: It'd be a matter of ** _throwing a match_** in...

HASEGAWA: ...and let Oyama-san burn while they kill Kishio-sensei

KOBAYASHI: What if **_Kishio-sensei was killed first_**?

KOBAYASHI: They could hang her from the fence...

KOBAYASHI: ... ** _and then cause the fire_** in the hallway

MIMORI: No, I'm sure Oyama-san died first

MIMORI: We saw a flash of fire outside while we found Oyama-san

MIMORI: That was **_the moment the culprit set fire_** to Kishio-sensei

MITSUHIKO: There's also the matter of the scream

KOSHIMIZU: I don't think it means anything

KOSHIMIZU: But either way, the corpse in the courtyard was on fire.

KOSHIMIZU: While we were in the hallway...

KOSHIMIZU: ... **the culprit set that corpse on fire.**

* * *

"Wrong, Koshimizu-san. It's impossible for the culprit to have done that while we found Oyama-san's body"

"And why's that, pray tell?" Koshimizu massaged his temples.

"Because the grass outside didn't show any signs of there being a person when any of them died. If the culprit had been there then there'd be grass showing somebody had been there"

"That's true, I saw it myself" Mimori confirmed "Nobody could have been in the Courtyard except maybe to put that mirror in there"

"Then tell me this: how did Kishio-sensei get killed there if nobody could have been in the Courtyard with her?" Romi asked "As I see it I think she got killed somewhere else and then the body was carried to the Courtyard"

"But the culprit can't have carried it there, you said it yourself" Hasegawa added "Maybe it was using some sort of mechanism?"

"A mechanism leaving no traces at all? That's impossible!"

"No, that would actually work" Mitsuhiko supported Hasegawa "All the culprit needed to do was to make it not be obvious but they made a mistake: not getting rid of the evidence properly" _What piece of evidence found with the corpse shows how it arrived to the Courtyard?_

* * *

Monobear File 4.1

Monobear File 4.2

Kishio's Cranium Fracture

Undisturbed Grass

Yurie's Mortal Wound

Chemical Smell

Cafeteria Hall Slope

Mitsuhiko's Testimony

Mirror

Cable (Courtyard)

Kimiko Sugita

Death Ray

Catalyst

Blood and Splinters

Lighter

Broken Crossbow

Wooden Rods

Cable (Roof)

* * *

**Cable (Courtyard)**

* * *

"Kishio-sensei's corpse was tied to the fence with a cable" Actually, the cable was tied to a tree on the other side of the fence but that wasn't important right now "That's the remain of the mechanism"

"...I don't get it. How could the culprit move the body using a cable?"

"All we need in order to know how it happened is to know where other pieces of this mechanism are. In fact, I know where one was found"

* * *

Monobear File 4.1

Monobear File 4.2

Kishio's Cranium Fracture

Undisturbed Grass

Yurie's Mortal Wound

Chemical Smell

Cafeteria Hall Slope

Mitsuhiko's Testimony

Mirror

Cable (Courtyard)

Kimiko Sugita

Death Ray

Catalyst

Blood and Splinters

Lighter

Broken Crossbow

Wooden Rods

Cable (Roof)

* * *

**Cable (Roof)**

* * *

"Kishio-sensei was tied with cable but the Courtyard wasn't the only place where cable was found. Would it be too weird to suppose both places are connected in some way?"

"It depends on what that other place is" Mimori commented "If it's like the third floor bathroom I don't think it means anything"

"There was no cable in the third floor bathroom" Mitsuhiko said, somewhat annoyed by the random comment "I found cable on the Roof, hanging just above the Lookout"

"That's where Kishio-sensei was calling us to. Do you guys think she brought the cable there?" Kobayashi wondered.

"It's possible. Hikari-kun, can Kishio-sensei's body be seen from the Lookout?" Hasegawa was starting to form a theory in her head but before Mitsuhiko could answer Lily intervened.

"It can! Let me show you" In the center of the table a hologram of the Courtyard and the outer wall was projected, thankfully the corpse projected didn't have any gruesome details. The outer wall showed the Lookout on the top, where Lily helpfully added a coil of cable.

"This doesn't help me at all" Romi said "Please explain it in a way even a blind woman like me can understand, Hikari-kun"

"Right, what I'm trying to say is that the Courtyard and the Lookout are connected with Kishio-sensei's death"

"So...she wasn't murdered in the Courtyard?" Sugita was keeping her bandaged hands hanging to the sides, placing them on the table was too painful.

Mitsuhiko hesitated for a moment, should he reveal the real crime scene yet? Maybe the culprit would slip and be caught if he didn't specify where the body was found. "No, she wasn't. She was actually killed somewhere else"

"So she died in the Lookout. How was she brought onto the Courtyard and tied so she was hanging from her feet, then?" Romi made a wrong supposition but Mitsuhiko wasn't going to correct her.

"It's easy. Kishio-sensei was brought into the Courtyard this way:"

* * *

_Pendulum movement_

_The force of gravity_

_Carried by the culprit_

_Monobear did it_

* * *

**_Pendulum movement_ **

* * *

"It was like a pendulum. What other way could there be for the body to end like it did?"

"I see what you mean!" Mimori leaned forward to demonstrate with her fingers the trajectory "The culprit tied together Kishio-sensei's feet with the cable and let it fall down. The cable was tied somewhere else so the body hit the fence and stopped there. Am I right?"

"That's exactly what I think happened" The way the body was tied and how quick the body was found made that the only option.

"No, there's something wrong here" Hasegawa interrupted "A pendulum would need the cable to be tied somewhere"

"There was this tree on the other side of the fence. The cable was tied there" Koshimizu informed, indicating in the hologram the place where the tree would be found.

"But that still doesn't make any sense! Did somebody get out of this place to climb the tree, tie the cable and then return like nothing happened? Tell me that's not what happened"

"It isn't" Mitsuhiko said "The cable actually wasn't tied to the tree. It was more like it was...attached to it. As to how anybody would make the cable reach the tree without leaving the Headquarters I'd say it was using this tool:"

* * *

Monobear File 4.1

Monobear File 4.2

Kishio's Cranium Fracture

Undisturbed Grass

Yurie's Mortal Wound

Chemical Smell

Cafeteria Hall Slope

Mitsuhiko's Testimony

Mirror

Cable (Courtyard)

Kimiko Sugita

Death Ray

Catalyst

Blood and Splinters

Lighter

Broken Crossbow

Wooden Rods

Cable (Roof)

* * *

**Broken Crossbow**

* * *

"When the Fourth Floor opened Kimiko and I explored it. We found an Archery Range and among its stuff there was this large crossbow. I bet that's how the cable got to the tree on the other side of the fence!"

"You mean the cable was tied to an arrow and shot at the tree?" Romi mused it for a moment, approving the idea "That could work!"

"That must have been Kishio-sensei's plan: to help us escape through the air via that cable. It would have been dangerous and falling four stories would not be fun at all but at this point I doubt we would have cared about the risks" Mimori drew a quick diagram on her notebook "Like this!"

"Did she seriously expect all of us to have enough arm strength to hang and move onto the cable to the end?!"

"No, I had to make some resistant rods. I think she intended us to use those rods to slide down the cable to the tree" Sugita informed, taking one out of her pocket with a wince.

"That's not a good plan, what if the arrow got unstuck from the tree? Kishio-sensei really doesn't make good plans..." Mitsuhiko started saying before shaking his head, what the heck were they discussing now "Does it even matter?! Look, Kishio-sensei's escape plan doesn't matter right now, what matters is that the body was brought onto the Courtyard with a pendulum motion. What else is there to discuss?"

"Yeah, I have something: how was the body set on fire?" Hasegawa played with her cap "An accelerant was used but what I mean is how did the culprit make it be on fire?"

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Wooden Rods / Lighter / Broken Crossbow / Death Ray / Kimiko Sugita_

* * *

KOSHIMIZU: The culprit didn't walk on the Courtyard, of course.

MIMORI: The grass proves it.

KOSHIMIZU: There must be some alternate way...

KOSHIMIZU: ...a way to **_set it on fire from afar._**

KOSHIMIZU: Or perhaps it was before it was thrown off with the cable?

MIMORI: So she was set on fire **_while on the Lookout?_**

SUGITA: That's impossible!

SUGITA: How do you push a body on fire?

SUGITA: You'd get seriously hurt if you did that!

MIMORI: Then it was done through **_some sort of machine_**

SASUGA: No matter how much I think about it...

SASUGA: ...I just can't think of a way.

* * *

"It's not that complicated. I mean, the only place Kishio-sensei could have been set on fire was on the Lookout" Mitsuhiko leaned on his chair "I found a lighter up there. It's likely the culprit left it behind after setting the body on fire and throwing it down"

"That makes sense...kinda. Why would the culprit leave the lighter behind?" Hasegawa wondered but before Mitsuhiko could say another word Mimori hit the table. It seemed like she wanted to be the one to continue the discussion.

"Thank you, Hikari-kun, but I think I can lead from here on. I know where you're going" Mimori claimed. Mitsuhiko shrugged; maybe it could reveal something useful. Mimori flipped the pages of her notebook, looking for the argument she had written in there during the trial. "These murders can be summarized in two words: freakishly sadistic. Who is the person who had the guts to kill in such freakish ways?"

"Oh, we haven't defined anything about the number of culprits" Kobayashi realized. The journalist didn't let that stop her, though; she just smiled condescendingly and wagged her finger.

"Not so fast, Kobayashi-kun. By now we can know the number of culprits, thanks to Hikari-kun. Kishio-sensei was burned on the Lookout and Oyama-san was burned in the Cafeteria Hallway. Do you notice the sheer distance that's between those two locations?"

"But it's impossible for a single person to have created both fires at once" Mitsuhiko objected. That had logic but then why did he feel he was forgetting something crucial in the matter of the fires?

"That's true but I have good reasons to believe there's a single person involved" Mimori continued.

"Who died first, though? Oyama-san or Kishio-sensei?" Sugita asked. Mimori turned her head around and looked at her with surprising harshness.

"I think that, in the big picture here, the order of the deaths doesn't matter. What we should care about is about the fires themselves, when they happened and how. Hikari-kun!"

"Yes?" She sure was taking a proactive stance in this trial, perhaps even more than in the other two she had taken active part in.

"Please tell everybody how the fire Oyama-san was in happened"

"Uh, how the heck do you expect me to now? I didn't see it light up, I got there too late"

"That's good enough. Now, how long was it before Kishio-sensei's body was found?"

"...a couple minutes, I think? We saw that sudden bright orange glow outside and-" So that was what Mimori was going for. The orange glow was the moment Kishio-sensei was falling onto the fence via cable pendulum. Somebody had to been on the Lookout to push the body down right in that moment. Not only that, now he realized what he hadn't noticed a while ago:

He didn't see anybody running away from the fire. And what's more, it was impossible somebody was in the Cafeteria because he had stayed in the Cafeteria Hallway while Kishio's corpse was found. There was only one person missing at that time.

It sure didn't bode well for Sugita. Mimori, as if she had been reading his mind, nodded with enthusiasm "I think it's clear that if Hikari-kun had seen somebody running away from the fire he'd have told us. We can conclude our pyromaniac wasn't around the hallway fire when it happened. Where was that person, then?

In the Lookout, getting rid of Kishio-sensei's body! And there's only one person who can have done it. We all have thought of that person, haven't we? The only person with burns, the only person who has blood splattered on her. Sugita-san, you're the only one among us who can have done it"

Yep, that didn't bode well at all for her. Sugita bit her lower lip, not saying anything. Mimori, relentless, pointed at the bandaged hands with her pen "We all saw the burns she has. Hikari-kun and Koshimizu-san heard a female scream and since it was so loud I'm sure other people did too"

"Now that you mention it I heard it too" Kobayashi scratched his head sheepishly "I was too busy running to the first floor to wonder what that was. W-Was it...?"

"It was Sugita-san. Let me borrow a popular saying: those burns must have hurt like a bitch" _That_ _'_ _s not a popular saying, that_ _'_ _s a vulgar colloquialism._

Sugita didn't make any attempt to defend herself, just looking at the table meekly, so Mitsuhiko decided he'd be the one to try to put everything in order "That scream could have been caused by anything"

"Are you serious?" Mitsuhiko had forgotten about Sasuga. The roboticist wasn't the best person to argue and take part in a debate but he definitely wasn't going to sit aside while they accused his girlfriend "It could have been any other woman"

"It can't have been anyone other than her. Hasegawa-san and Romi-san descended quickly to the first floor and I was with Hikari-kun and Koshimizu-san. It can only have been her"

"Then that scream doesn't have to mean she was in pain from burning" Confirmed, Sasuga wasn't going to be of help "She got covered with all that blood because she got hurt. That must have been when she screamed!"

"I bandaged her hands and examined her to make sure she wasn't hurt. She doesn't have any open wounds" Koshimizu intervened. Sasuga, his weak arguments broken, looked at Sugita who shrugged apologetically. Sasuga wasn't going to let anybody tell him Sugita was the murderer of two people, though.

"Kimmy, tell them! Tell them why you screamed?"

"...I can't, Tohya-kun. Sorry" she said so softly Mitsuhiko almost couldn't hear her. She wasn't done, though, she raised her voice to make sure everybody heard her "But I can make them realize how wrong they are. How did I set on fire the hallway if you say I was in the Lookout?"

"That's the big question" Mimori admitted "Hikari-kun found that lighter up there but there was nothing like that in the first floor"

"Maybe she used a thread or something to move the lighter down...? You know, some kind of trick like that" Romi suggested but Kobayashi was ready to refute that line of reasoning.

"It'd be quite difficult to move that lighter. It's too small for most materials to grasp it properly and the ones that could be used would burn before the lighter could be brought back to the Lookout. That can't have been what happened"

"Did anybody find something that could be used, then?" Sasuga inquired to everybody. There was no answer. It looked like the matter of how the fire in the Cafeteria Hallway was a dead end for now

"Another point I'd like answers to is what killed Oyama-san" Mitsuhiko took the chance to say.

"It was the fire, wasn't it? I mean, the bear file didn't mention the cause of death but it can't have been anything else"

"Actually, it's very likely she was dead before she was set on fire" Koshimizu explained the terrible wound inflicted to Yurie's head, thankfully keeping it concise and without going into excessive detail. The medic looked quite queasy by the end of it and he wasn't the only one with similar reactions.

"How disgusting...but there's nothing in this building that could cause such a wound!" Hasegawa was pale, trying to keep her composure. The icy silence that received those words showed she wasn't the only one who was attempting to not to discuss it...but Mitsuhiko felt there was something underneath that silence.

It felt to him like the pyro who caused Yurie's death knew that, if it was ever found, then they'd be caught. _The weapon must have some deep connection with that culprit. Finding what was the crime weapon is going to be the pivotal point of this trial. But how?_ The Death Ray was pretty much the only thing that could have caused it; at least it seemed to be that way.

Only a strong laser could have cut bone and set on fire the place, that was his opinion, but the Death Ray _may_ not have been the weapon. But if it wasn't that then what else could it have been? No other object in the Headquarters could have done that.

"Alright" Hasegawa broke the silence "Let's go back to Sugita-san. Do we all agree she killed Kishio-sensei?"

"Just because she was up there while everybody was somewhere else doesn't mean she's the only suspect" Sasuga grumbled. Koshimizu rubbed his chin, thinking for a moment.

"Sasuga-kun, do you know if Sugita-san had something to do with Kishio-sensei's escape plan?"

"Well she was in charge of creating the rods, I know that. I myself had a role too, which I'll have to keep silent for not having any relation with the murders. Didn't we all have something to do? Does it matter what we all were doing?"

"Do you know who had stuff to do in the Fourth Floor?"

"After Kimmy made the rods she was supposed to carry them to the meeting point, Kishio-sensei and she were the only ones assigned to that floor"

"She did do that. I found the rods piled in the Lookout" Mitsuhiko said "So Kimiko indeed was in the Fourth Floor shortly before that murder"

"B-But was it even confirmed she stayed up there? All you have is a scream that could have sounded from some other floor. You got nothing against her!"

"Sugita-san, did you stay in the Fourth floor after delivering the rods?" Kobayashi inquired kindly. The Tea Demon hid her face with her bandaged hands before nodding meekly.

"...I did. After that I went to...somewhere else in that floor" she said. Sasuga made a face as if somebody had just punched him in the gut.

"And where's that 'somewhere else'? You already admitted you were in the Fourth Floor all this time, it shouldn't matter if you specify where" Kobayashi continued pressuring but Sugita refused to answer any further. Mitsuhiko, although it really hurt to ask it, got Sugita's attention.

"Kimiko, I think I know where you were. I'm going to ask, tell me if I'm right. Were you..."

* * *

_In the Archery Range_

_In the Waiting Room_

_In the Security Room_

_In the Roof_

* * *

**_In the Security Room_ **

* * *

"...were you in the Security Room?" the hunter kind of wanted to hear a firm 'no' but by now he didn't hold any high hopes. Everything was seriously pointing at Sugita as Kishio's murderer, as much as he hated to admit it. He really didn't want to vote for his childhood friend and send her to her death but what else was he supposed to do?

Sugita looked at Mitsuhiko for a moment before nodding. She hid her face in embarrassment, knowing what the hunter was thinking. Sasuga groaned loudly, still deep in denial.

"So what? What if she was in the Fourth Floor? It doesn't confirm she screamed, it doesn't mean anything! Why are you all badgering her so much?!"

"Sasuga-kun, by now you should understand she's the prime suspect for Kishio-sensei and Oyama-san's deaths" Romi said bluntly. Sasuga rose from his seat, furious.

"None of you have proven anything! Kishio-sensei was killed in the Lookout, you all said that already. Kimmy wasn't there and I haven't seen anything decisive in here. I demand to see decisive proof Kimmy is involved in some way with the murders. Come on, show me!"

"Uh, Sasuga-kun" Mitsuhiko raised his voice. The roboticist turned towards him, glaring. "I have something to tell you and you won't like it"

"Come on, Hikari-kun. You can't seriously think she is a murderer"

"I don't think she is! But there's something you must know" It would make Sugita look even worse, Mitsuhiko knew it, but it was something that should be revealed. It was time to clarify the main misconception people had about Kishio's death. _Sorry Kimiko but it_ _'_ _s necessary. We want the truth._

* * *

**Panic Talk Battle**

* * *

SASUGA: Anybody can scream

SASUGA: That means nothing!

SASUGA: Not even close!

SASUGA: Kimmy will prove it

SASUGA: Are you listening to yourself?!

SASUGA: Where's your loyalty?!

SASUGA: She wasn't there, was she?

SASUGA: Look at the evidence!

SASUGA: I won't believe it

SASUGA: She's no killer!

* * *

**Security Room Crime Scene**

* * *

"Sasuga-kun, Kimiko admitted being in the Security Room. I hope you acknowledge that"

"What if she did? The Security Room is far enough from the Lookout"

"That would be okay if it weren't because Kishio-sensei wasn't killed in the Lookout. She was actually murdered in the Security Room, right in front of the cameras console"

Sasuga was speechless for a moment, trying to understand what Mitsuhiko just said. That contradicted the general belief and Sasuga wasn't the only one confused. "But you said she was killed in the Lookout!" Kobayashi protested.

"I said no such thing. Somebody here supposed that and you all went along with that. Don't blame me for the misconception, okay?"

"And I suppose you found something in the Security Room to say she died there, did you?" Koshimizu asked. Mitsuhiko nodded, wishing he could have taken a photo of the real crime scene.

"There were puddles of blood and splinters from that broken crossbow. The crossbow was used to crack Kishio's skull open, in case it wasn't clear"

"And Sugita-san just admitted she was there" Kobayashi looked at Sugita. The Tea Demon seemed to want to be anywhere else other than this Meeting Room "What's going on, Sugita-san? What happened in there?"

There was nothing to be done. Sugita had a lot of proof against herself, both by her own admittance and by evidence found by other people. It'd be quite difficult for her to not to be the culprit and everybody knew it, even Mitsuhiko. Sasuga tried to still be in denial but even he had to accept Sugita was at least suspicious _. Sorry, Kimiko. I_ _'_ _m sorry for this._

"...I...I knew I had screwed myself up. There was never a chance I'd get away with it, was there?" she finally said. Tears were starting to form in her eyes "I'm not a good criminal. I'm sorry everybody. I'm sorry, Tohya-kun, I..." her words trailed off while everybody tried to understand what she just said.

"Kimmy, what are you saying...?" Sasuga asked, confused.

"I think it's obvious what she's saying. It's a confession. She admits being the culprit" Romi replied "What happened, Sugita-san? Why did you kill Kishio-sensei?"

_Wait, that_ _'_ _s right! Why did she kill her? Mitsuhiko_ realized that, despite everything done so far, there had been no motive shown yet. Monobear hadn't done one, either! Just why did Sugita kill Kishio, then? That is, if she was truly the culprit?

"I'd like her to tell exactly how she killed Kishio-sensei. Remember when Ithought she had killed Takayama-kun? We must make sure this is a real confession and not some sort of mistake" Romi continued.

"And what do you have to say about Oyama-san's death?" Sasuga inquired. Sugita bit her lip again, avoiding eye contact with Mitsuhiko.

"That was me, too. I killed both Kishio-sensei and Oyama-san. Sorry, Hikari-kun, this must have been horribly painful for you. I can't be called your friend after doing that"

"Kimiko, are you serious? Did you kill both of them?" Mitsuhiko really had some doubts about all this and he really hoped it wasn't his conscious wishes of Sugita being innocent clouding his judgment.

"I am! I killed them both"

"Again, tell us how you did it. We're voting you as the culprit but it'd be great to make sure we're doing the right thing" Romi requested again.

"I know. Let me gather my thoughts and I'll start"

Mitsuhiko leaned on his chair, ready to listen to Sugita's confessions. This trial was starting to drain him emotionally, finishing the job started with Yurie's horrible death. _The motive, that_ _'_ _s what I really don_ _'_ _t understand yet. Let_ _'_ _s suppose Kimiko really is **the** culprit...or **a** culprit. Why did she kill Oyama-san? Or why did she kill Kishio-sensei? Or why did she kill both? Or perhaps she_ _'_ _s lying about killing anybody in the first place?_

_I feel the reasons of the deaths are the central point of these cases. There must be something indicating the_ _'_ _why_ _'_ _! Yurie in the Cafeteria Hallway and Kishio in the Security Room. Think, Mitsuhiko..._


	30. Chapter 4: Hellfire - Trial II

"Okay, I'm ready for my confession. What would you like me to start with?" Sugita asked, having prepared herself for the tough task of revealing how she had killed two people and set them on fire.

"I think you should start with Kishio-sensei's death. That's the part we have the most certainty of your involvement" Mimori suggested and got everybody else's approval. That could be a good enough start point, if there were no flaws then they could proceed with Yurie's death.

"Alright, if that's what you want..." Sugita took a deep breath. _I better pay attention here. If there_ _'_ _s a single mistake here it could mean she_ _'_ _s innocent. It has happened before, it can happen again. Come on, Kimiko, show you_ _'_ _re innocent!_

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

Mirror / Kishio's Cranium Fracture / Broken Crossbow / Yurie's Mortal Wound / Cable (Courtyard)

* * *

SUGITA: I killed Kishio-sensei **in the Security Room**

SUGITA: Just as you said, Hikari-kun

SUGITA: **After I delivered the rods**...

SUGITA: We entered into the Security Room

SUGITA: We had... **something** to do there.

SUGITA: Then I saw my chance

SUGITA: I grabbed the crossbow she had left around...

SUGITA: ...and hit her with all my strength.

MITSUHIKO: But why? **Why did you kill her?**

SUGITA: ...

SUGITA: ...

SUGITA: ...no reason.

MITSUHIKO: No reason?!

MITSUHIKO: You can't expect us to believe that!

* * *

Nothing in his evidence could have let him progress. What he had to do was aim for any vagueness Sugita had left in her tale and force her to talk more. "I have no idea why you killed her but...I think I can find out"

"It must be something big if she refuses to say anything about it" Koshimizu commented.

"Kimiko, you said you had gone to do something in the Security Room, and you went with Kishio-sensei in there. That by itself is a big clue on what you two were doing, in my opinion"

"There's not much to do in the Security Room. All there is in that room is a console monitoring all the cameras" Kobayashi added "They may have wanted privacy..."

"Or they went into that room to monitor the cameras. That's what they were doing with Kimiko attacked, or that's what she says"

"Did you enter that room planning to kill her, Sugita-san?" Hasegawa inquired. Sugita touched the bandages on her hands, thoughtful.

"I did. All I needed is some place where I could kill her without raising any alarms. That room is secluded and nobody would hear her, so..."

"We get it" Koshimizu nodded "It was a bit sudden, though. I can't understand why you would kill her after we were so close to the escape"

"I can understand it. She had killed Oyama-san, maybe she killed Kishio-sensei to cover for that murder" Hasegawa suggested.

"I said I'd tell how I killed her but I won't go into my motives. Don't try to convince me, you'd be wasting your time" Sugita said firmly.

_This seems important. Let_ _'_ _s suppose Sugita is telling the truth about killing her. Sugita and Kishio entered the Security Room and something that happened there led to Kishio_ _'_ _s death. I think I_ _'_ _m starting to understand what could have happened._

"Kimmy...I have a question" Sasuga said "How did y-you get rid of Kishio-sensei's body?"

"We already know that. We don't need her to say more about that" Mimori snapped at Sasuga but he didn't flinch, nodding gravely.

"I know! But I want to hear it directly from her. Let it happen, okay?" Mitsuhiko narrowed his eyes. To him it seemed Sasuga was desperately trying to find a weak point and for that he was willing to backtrack onto previously discussed matters. While he appreciated what Sasuga was doing he didn't see any sense on talking about that again. _Although maybe something new will happen, depends on what Kimiko will say now._

"Okay, Tohya-kun. I'll talk about that" Sugita acceded, remorseful.

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

Chemical Smell / Catalyst / Cable (Roof) / Mirror / Kimiko Sugita

* * *

SUGITA **: I dragged Kishio-sensei** **'** **s corpse** to the Lookout

SUGITA: Thankfully it took no time at all

SASUGA: Was that when you got all that blood splatter?

SUGITA: No, that was from when I...killed her

SUGITA: **I had everything I needed** to follow my plan

MIMORI: You had planned to burn the body?!

SUGITA: Of course. I doused her with the accelerant...

SUGITA: **Cut the cable** and tied her feet...

SUGITA: ...and **used the lighter.**

MITSUHIKO: You mean you had the catalyst up there?

SUGITA: Of course. **I made the fires**.

SUGITA: I **threw the flaming body** down...

SUGITA: ...and that's when I burned my hands.

HASEGAWA: It all makes sense. I see no flaw here!

* * *

"Sugita-san, you're starting to slip" Mitsuhiko declared. The flaw he had found wasn't going to make her innocent of murder but he was going to take anything he found "So you say you're the one who lighted up the fires?"

"Of course I did! I had the lighter and the catalyst with me all this time" she insisted. Mitsuhiko made a face, skeptical. While he couldn't prove it with 100% certainty he was sure Sugita had just said a blatant lie.

"And since you created the fires that means you know what the Catalyst, accelerant, whatever you want to call it is composed of, don't you?"

"Uuuh..." Sugita looked like a deer in the headlights "I-I don't really know what you mean..."

"You used the catalyst. Tell me what it's made of"

Sugita wiped the sweat off her forehead. "I didn't really make it. It was given to me and-"

"I'll tell you something, Kimiko. I doubt you're the pyro. In my opinion I think it's more likely Kishio-sensei was the one who planned the fire"

"But she was on fire! You're not going to say it was a suicide, right?" Hasegawa protested and soon was joined by Koshimizu, who also inquired why Mitsuhiko thought Kishio was the one who planned the fires.

"I have two reasons to believe Kishio planned the fire, that is, if she didn't pour the catalyst herself onto the walls and floor of the Cafeteria Hallway. Do any of you remember who ordered us to stay away from the hallway?"

"It was Kishio-sensei" Mimori answered what was now obvious for everybody "It's clear she knew what was going to happen"

"That doesn't prove she was the one to cause the fire, you know" Sasuga pointed. Mitsuhiko, knowing the roboticist was right about that, shrugged. That didn't actually matter that much, but in his mind the more information that was around the better.

"No, no, let me explain. Something I have been wondering is why the catalyst container-" 'accelerant' Mimori clarified "-whatever! The container was with Kishio-sensei's body. I think Kishio-sensei is the one who had been carrying that container all this time and then Kimiko burned it along the body..."

At that point he realized he had lost his train of thought, not even sure what point he was trying to make. It sounded so convoluted and silly and judging by the way people were looking at him they didn't understand his argument, either. Not only that, he had also clearly said Sugita had burned the body. Had he...gotten to that conclusion now? Was he now convinced she had killed Kishio-sensei? Her confession was making sense; he couldn't find any significant flaws that proved she hadn't done it.

"I think Sugita-san just wanted to get rid of the container" Koshimizu theorized. The topic of the melted catalyst container was over there, everybody accepting Koshimizu's explanation. Sugita didn't deny it, either.

_At least we defined Kishio-sensei definitely knew and encouraged the hallway fire. I_ _'_ _ll make sure to remember that._

"Sugita-san's testimonies match what we have discussed so far! I think it's clear she did it" Romi's doubts were gone by now.

"No, allow her one testimony more. I want to hear how she managed to kill Oyama-san and then kill Kishio-sensei shortly after that"

Nobody argued against Koshimizu's request, but Sugita cringed and seemed like she'd rather to go straight to voting right now. However refusing to say how she did it would lead to problems and an even longer trial, getting done with it seemed the quicker option.

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

Death Ray / Wooden Rods / Broken Crossbow / Monobear File 4.1 / Yurie's Mortal Wound

* * *

SUGITA: I'm sorry, Hikaru-kun.

SUGITA: I planned her murder for quite a while

SUGITA: I got Oyama-san to **go to the hallway**...

SUGITA: ...once I was sure I had the path clear

MIMORI: How did you get her to be there?

SUGITA: **Before I went upstairs** I talked to her.

SUGITA: I was waiting, ready for her to appear...

SUGITA: ...and once she did, I striked.

SUGITA: **I sliced part of her head** off.

KOSHIMIZU: How did you do that?!

SUGITA: I used **the crime weapon**. It didn't take long.

SUGITA: Kishio-sensei had doused the hallway in accelerant.

SUGITA: All I had to do was **light it up**.

SUGITA: I ran away **through the window**

SASUGA: But the grass...?

SUGITA: **I stayed near the walls** and didn't leave any prints.

SUGITA: So I got to the Security Room and...

SUGITA: ...well, you know what happened in there.

KOSHIMIZU: I feel something odd here. Don't you all see it?

KOSHIMIZU: How **vague** she is being about an important point here?

* * *

"Koshimizu-san is right. You're being awfully vague here, Kimiko"

"Vague? Vague about what, exactly?" Sugita tried to look defiant but the way the corner of her mouth twitched nervously showed she was in great panic. Mitsuhiko noted that, while she was speaking of Kishio's death, that tic never appeared but now that Yurie's death was the topic it suddenly was there.

"You went into acceptable detail in most of the points but you barely touched one that has baffled us all this time: what was used to kill Yurie!"

"That's right! What weapon could have cut her head like that?" Kobayashi voiced the main question of Yurie's murder.

"Oh, that" Sugita winced "I-I didn't think it was that important. What matters is that I killed her"

"If you killed her you should have no problems saying what exactly you used to cause that wound" Hasegawa pressured.

Sugita closed her eyes, knowing she had no way to get out of the situation she had gotten into. "Fine. I'll reveal it. I wasn't there when Oyama-san died, I was _with_ the weapon"

"I don't understand" Mitsuhiko said.

"I was with the weapon in the Physics Laboratory" she clarified. So that's what she was going to say now "I used the Death Ray assembled in that laboratory to kill her _and_ cause the fire"

"Death Ray? Did you use a real Death Ray to kill Yurie? Heheh, are you fucking kidding me?" Mitsuhiko couldn't avoid laughing nervously. That sounded so ridiculous it was almost funny! Especially because he knew the Death Ray in the Physics Room was likely to not to be the murder weapon.

"How does that machine work?" Koshimizu asked with studied caution. It seemed Mitsuhiko wasn't the only one having a hard time believing it.

"It's not too complicated. You aim, you fire, a strong hot laser happens. It's that easy" she explained.

"The fire was caused by a laser? Okay, in hindsight that could make sense. A strong enough laser would heat up the accelerant enough to light it up"

"And the Death Ray would cause Oyama-san's mortal wound too!" Kobayashi added "It makes sense!"

"I don't get something: the Physics Laboratory is in the Third Floor. How did you hit the hallway from two floors above?" Romi asked. Sugita, a bit calmer, got Lily to project the courtyard hologram again.

"We placed a large mirror here. The angle was enough for me to aim at the mirror and direct the laser beam into the hallway"

"Kimmy, you're not saying that...Oyama-san died in the moment..." Sasuga started saying, deathly pale. Mitsuhiko had never seen him so scared.

"She did, Tohya-kun. I'm sorry" Sugita looked down, ready to take the votes.

"So she waited in the Physics Laboratory and kept an eye on the mirror. Once she saw Oyama-san in the reflection she fired the Death Ray" Mimori summarized "It makes sense, I think. What do you say, Hikari-kun? Does it all work?"

"No, this is such fucking bullshit I can't believe you're all falling for it" he said, fed up. He had finally found what he had been looking for: Sugita doing some big blunders in her confession. It didn't clear her at all about Kishio's death, in fact it seemed more than ever she really had killed her, but Yurie's death...that was something she didn't do, was it?

And if Sugita hadn't done it that meant there were two different culprits. Sugita was trying to protect somebody by making herself the guilty party of both murders instead of only one. Mitsuhiko already had a suspect in mind; after all the list of people Sugita would try to protect this much was very short: one was Mitsuhiko himself, the other...

The problem was proving it and finding the real murder weapon, but for now he was going to just break Sugita's confession and see where everything went from there. "And what's the problem now?" Koshimizu grinned sardonically and put his elbows on the table "What marvelous reasoning are you going to pull out of your ass this time?"

"He may pull reasoning out of his ass but he's usually right" Hasegawa said "It's worth listening to him"

"I never said he was wrong. It's just amusing, you know?"

"Okay, I get it!" Mitsuhiko briefly regretted being the main force in trials, but right now there were more important matters to worry about "So as I was saying, Kimiko, it's impossible you caused the fire like you said you did"

**WHY CAN** **'** **T YOU ACCEPT IT?!**

Sugita would have hit the table if it weren't because of her burned hands. "I confessed to both murders. I even said exactly how I did it, without any contradictions or mistakes. Why can't you accept I did it?!"

"Because you just did make a big mistake. I admit I can't refute your confession about Kishio-sensei's death but I don't believe for a second you killed Yurie"

"I don't get it" Sugita shook her head "Fine, let's fight it out. Let's get this over with"

* * *

**Rebuttal Showdown**

* * *

_Blood and Splinters / Broken Crossbow / Death Ray / Kishio_ _'_ _s Cranium Fracture / Mitsuhiko_ _'_ _s Testimony_

* * *

SUGITA: Fires need three elements to happen

SUGITA: Heat, accelerant and oxygen

SUGITA: Oxygen was already present

SUGITA: Kishio-sensei provided the accelerant

SUGITA: And I provided the heat!

SUGITA: The Death Ray! That was how I started the fire!

MITSUHIKO: The Death Ray is the key here.

MITSUHIKO: Are you certain that's what you used?

SUGITA: Absolutely!

SUGITA: I used the **Death Ray**

SUGITA: There's **nothing else** in this building...

SUGITA: ...that could have caused the fire!

SUGITA: I even placed that mirror **to redirect**...

SUGITA: ...the laser once I fired it.

SUGITA: Does it make sense to you now?

* * *

"You are completely sure you used the Death Ray. I see. Well there's nothing else to ask"

"You mean you finally accept my confession?" Sugita asked, hopeful. The hunter grinned smugly, satisfied with what she was going to do now.

"Definitely not. In fact, I'll now proceed to break your confession! You claim the Death Ray was used, but what you don't know is that I examined the Death Ray myself shortly after the murder"

"...oh. You're not going to say-"

"That's exactly what I'm going to say! There were no signs of the Death Ray having been used recently. Actually, it was so cold it was obvious it hasn't been activated in quite a long time!"

"Really? Maybe it was designed in a way it doesn't heat up when it's used" Mimori suggested, receiving a scowl from Mitsuhiko.

"We're talking of lasers strong enough to kill! Slicing through bone as if it were butter. Do you seriously think such lasers wouldn't heat up the machine in the slightest?"

"Hikari-kun is right" Sasuga intervened "The Death Ray doesn't have anything preventing it from heating up. If it was as cold as he said it was then it was indeed never used"

Sugita stared at him in horror. "What do you think you're doing, Tohya-kun?"

"I'm solving this misunderstanding, Kimmy. Don't fret about it"

"You don't know what you're doing"

"I know it very well! Leave me do what I think is right, okay?"

"Uuuuh..." Mitsuhiko cleared his throat awkwardly. This was not the moment for an arguing couple to take the spotlight "How do you know that with certainty, Sasuga-kun?"

"I know it because I created the Death Ray. I think I said once before lasers were my specialty? I created the Death Ray some time ago" the roboticist looked away "Besides the Death Ray has been nonfunctional for a while. Only I could fix it and I can assure you I didn't ever do that"

"Then the Death Ray can't have been the weapon of the crime. What was used?" Romi mused. Mitsuhiko had absolutely no idea about that, just what kind of weapon had killed Yurie if the Death Ray hadn't been the one? He couldn't begin to guess.

"What I do know is that some sort of laser weapon was fired from the Physics Laboratory" the hunter said "There were signs of the Death Ray having been moved, surely to make space for the weapon and the culprit"

"The mirror indicates some type of laser is the weapon! But where would one find a laser in this building?"

"...I think I got it" Everybody stopped talking and looked at the person who had said it. Koshimizu, deep in thought, had been the one to say those words "I see. Are we all sure it was a laser and not anything else?"

"It's almost confirmed, yeah" Mitsuhiko was intrigued what idea Koshimizu had. Had he really solved the conundrum of the crime weapon?

"Right, I see. I must be right. Listen, there's easy access for a laser weapon any of us could have used. Monobear, I have a question!" the medic stood up. This was going to be the most important question of the trial, at least according to him. All hinged on the bear's answer. Koshimizu took a deep breath and fired what would solve the case:

"The sprinklers. You said they were damaged. What was the damage, exactly?"

"Upupu...clever. Verrrry clever, Koshimizu-san. I see where you're driving at" Monobear was strangely satisfied with the question. Something in his way of talking gave Mitsuhiko shivers, he felt like everything in the trial had gone according to the Monobear's wishes. "I will answer! The sprinklers had clear signs of having been severed with some sort of heat-based object. L-A-S-E-R!"

Koshimizu nodded gravely, that was exactly what he had expected. "That settles it" And in that moment some words he had heard around an hour ago resonated in his mind. Words said just before the trial started:

_"The sprinklers would have worked if they hadn't been disabled in the first place! Which one of you did it? Say it now!"_

**_"I did"_ **

"No way. That...that answers everything!" Mitsuhiko stood up, hitting the table with his hands. So many questions, so many mysteries since the beginning of their stay in the Headquarters...all that had just been unveiled in front of his eyes. Mitsuhiko cursed himself for not having realized it earlier; he had seen that laser in action before! Not only that, he had cheered for the person using that laser.

He felt like a heavy weight had settled in his gut. He now understood the true nature of Yurie's death, he now understood why Sugita had confessed both crimes, and over everything else, he knew the name of one of the people responsible for their stay in the Headquarters. "What's wrong, Hikari-kun?"

"I... thank you, Koshimizu-san. It's thanks to you I realized who the killer is. First than all: Kimiko...her only crime was killing Kishio-sensei. Yurie was murdered by somebody else.

The person responsible for Yurie's death is..."

* * *

Mitsuhiko Hikari

Shizuka Hasegawa

Mamoru Takayama

Akira Hosoya

Kimiko Sugita

Harumi Kayano

Tetsurou Koshimizu

Chiyo Yasumoto

Sumida Kishio

Kouhei Kobayashi

Daisuke Mitsuishi

Kumakichi Fukuyama

Hiyoko Romi

Kyrie Mimori

Yurie Oyama

Tohya Sasuga

Lily

Monobear

* * *

**Lily**

* * *

"Lily. You're the culprit, aren't you?" Mitsuhiko said. All the commanders present gasped, whether it was with shock or dread didn't matter, and focused on Lily. The robot girl fidgeted under their stares but didn't say anything "You killed Yurie. And the weapon...it was you, wasn't it? Your hands. The lasers embedded in your hands, the very same ones we have seen in action before. Those are what killed her, right?"

"I have nothing to say about the matter" Lily said bluntly, turning her head away with a puff.

"We don't need you to say anything. The sprinklers, you admitted you broke them. Monobear just informed us those were damaged with lasers; it isn't hard to make the connection" Koshimizu said. "What I don't get is why you killed Oyama-san. Tell us about that"

"My directives state my main goal is to keep people alive without interfering. While I haven't done a good job at that for a variety of reasons that doesn't mean I'll go rogue and defy my directives" she stated in a rather robotic voice, quite different from the melodious voice she usually had.

"You had mentioned your directives like in the first few days. I think you had said that" Mitsuhiko mused.

"It doesn't matter what she says! Let's solve this ourselves: why did Lily murder Oyama-san?" Kobayashi proposed, starting a new round of debate.

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Yurie_ _'_ _s Mortal Wound / Mirror / Death Ray / Lighter / Wooden Rods_

* * *

SASUGA: Lily had **no motive** to kill anybody

KOSHIMIZU: Perhaps she is **_malfunctioning_**...?

SUGITA: We would have noticed! She acted normal all the time

KOBAYASHI: It's already obvious there was **_premeditation_**

KOBAYASHI: She even placed a mirror to ensure the beam...

KOBAYASHI: ... **hit Oyama-san** when she passed through!

MITSUHIKO: I'm sure Lily was part of the arson plan

MITSUHIKO: She was who would light up the hallway fire

KOSHIMIZU: She may have killed Oyama-san...

KOSHIMIZU: ...to **_cover up her involvement._**

MIMORI: Or she suspected Oyama-san had something to do...

MIMORI: ... ** _with our stay in the Headquarters_**

MIMORI: She had to fight anybody on Monobear's side!

SASUGA: There are so many potential motives

SASUGA: But without proof it doesn't matter!

* * *

"The motive is simple. Amy, you think the mirror was to make sure she hit Yurie?"

"Of course it was for that! From the Physics Laboratory Lily would have a clear view of the hallway based on the mirror. Once Oyama-san passed through she would activate her laser and slice her head off! Oh, and she would spark the fire too!" Kobayashi explained, sure of his reasoning. Mitsuhiko was going to break that, though.

"I'm afraid the mirror itself contradicts your reasoning, Aaaaaamy. You see, the mirror was placed in an angle, okay? This angle was facing the Lounge window in the second floor. While the angle was perfect to redirect the laser beam into the hallway it's impossible Lily or anybody could have seen anything inside the hallway by using the mirror!"

"Oh...Oh!" Kobayashi reeled back in his chair. He was supposed to be a mirror expert, how did he make such a mistake?

"Then how did Lily know Oyama-san was coming?" Koshimizu scratched his chin "If the mirror wasn't how she did it then there may be another way"

"No, there's just no way for Lily to see. The only way would be through a camera and the Security Office but we already defined Lily was in the Physics Laboratory. It's impossible she could have seen anything happening in the hallway"

"Then where does that leave us? What's the meaning of this?" Romi felt they were missing a piece of the puzzle but couldn't begin to guess what it was.

"I'll tell you where it leaves us:"

* * *

_Yurie_ _'_ _s death was an accident_

_Lily had an accomplice_

_Lily wasn_ _'_ _t in the Physics Laboratory_

_Lily isn_ _'_ _t the real culprit_

* * *

**_Yurie_ ** **_'_ ** **_s death was an accident_ **

* * *

"Yurie's death was no more than an unfortunate accident" Mitsuhiko declared with grief. The commanders stared at him, digesting that new statement.

"An accident? You mean all Lily was doing was...light up the fire?" Kobayashi slowly came to understand Mitsuhiko's point.

"Exactly. All Lily was doing was following orders, I suppose. All she was supposed to do was use her laser to light up the catalyst, accelerant, whatever, and create the fire. She damaged the sprinklers, it's unlikely she had no idea what was going on. Yurie must have tried to go into the Cafeteria, or maybe she found the hallway soaked in liquids and went to investigate. We won't really know"

Lily was still looking away but it was clear she was listening carefully to what they were saying. Still, she wasn't going to break and confess anything. Monobear was enjoying himself greatly, though. Barely containing the laughter trying to escape the speaker in his muzzle he waved his paw, getting everybody's attention.

"Gyah...you know, you're all pretty funny. Lily this, Lily that, murderer murderer murderer. It's-gyyyy-it's way too funny!"

"I don't get it. What's so funny?" Sasuga asked spitefully, glaring at the bear.

"You all think I'll accept Lily as the culprit? She's no more than a pile of nuts and bolts! A robot! Do you all think she went out of her own volition and started the fire because she thought of it?" Mitsuhiko had the feeling the bear was going to force them to go to the very end "Somebody must have given her the order to fire her laser. Somebody told her to do that, and that person is the culprit of Oyama-san's death! Lily is no more than a weapon, now it's time for you to find out who the culprit is!"

Right. Lily wasn't a commander; technically she wasn't going to be allowed to take the blame for the murder. One of the eight commanders, or perhaps Kishio, had given her the order to use her laser. Now they had to name that person.

Luckily for everybody Mitsuhiko knew who had done that. He didn't want to do that, though. He was completely convinced the culprit had no ill intention; they had truly attempted to help everybody, both with their summoning everybody into the Headquarters and with the incendiary actions. It was unfair they were now going to die because of an accident; it was unfair this was something greatly advantageous to Monobear.

A person whose only fault was bad judgment was going to be executed.

"How are we supposed to know? That person could have given her the order at any time of the day! It's impossible for us to know" Sasuga said, cringing "We're going to have to rely on a confession. There's no other way"

"Are you insane? Nobody is going to step forward and go to their own death. The rest of us are going to die and that person will go free!" Sugita said but something in her eyes was shining. To Mitsuhiko it was obvious. This was the scenario she wanted to see happen, everything was going according to her wishes. That confirmed his suspicions, that was enough for him.

"Do we vote r-randomly and hope we hit the right one? We know Sugita-san is a culprit but the other one will have to b-b-be random" Kobayashi's determination was starting to fade, losing hope.

"What if Sugita-san was right and is the culprit for Oyama-san's death too?" Mimori proposed.

"She would have confessed that earlier unless...unless that was some sort of plan to get us all killed. If she killed both of them and we named her as innocent in one then she still goes free!" Hasegawa was losing control, too. This trial was breaking down in record time, it was now or never for Mitsuhiko to intervene.

"Enough. Everybody, give me a minute, okay? It's not that hard to know who's the culprit. We have all the clues we need" Mitsuhiko said forcefully. Once everybody was silent the hunter continued "There's one single piece of evidence linking that person to the fires but it's very circumstantial. Other than that there are no connections or proof, but luckily for everybody here there's another way to know the identity of the culprit"

"And what way would that be?" Sasuga gasped.

"Kimiko has said it all with her crime and with her behavior. It's not going to be difficult to find out. All we need to do is to think of a few key details. Let's start with the place Kishio-sensei's murder happened: The Security Room. That place is special because..."

* * *

_It_ _'_ _s in the Fourth Floor_

_It allows to see everywhere in the Headquarters_

_It_ _'_ _s isolated_

_It was near the Lookout_

* * *

**_It allows to see everywhere in the Headquarters_ **

* * *

"...because it's the Security Room! The console there allows seeing into all the cameras in the building. It's not difficult to suppose there's a camera in the hallway to the cafeteria, right?"

"So Sugita-san was keeping track of everything from there?" Mimori inquired.

"No. Kishio-sensei was the one watching over everything. She planned the fire, the escape, everything! Kimiko arrived after a while. At some point...Yurie's death happened. We can all suppose what exactly led to Kishio-sensei's death, right?"

* * *

_The plan went wrong_

_Kishio saw something_

_Kimiko wanted to escape_

_Kishio attacked Kimiko_

* * *

**_Kishio saw something_ **

* * *

"Kishio-sensei saw something in the camera: the culprit and Lily firing the laser in Lily's hand. She saw how Yurie died and the fire started. You see where I'm going, right?"

"If Kishio-sensei had survived she would have been a vital witness! Undeniable evidence of guilt, seen by two people. The trial would have been over in minutes" Koshimizu answered.

"But Sugita-san hasn't said anything of what she saw. Why's that?" Kobayashi wondered.

"She is protecting the culprit, that's what is going on! The reason she killed Kishio-sensei was to protect that person. The reason she confessed to both crimes was to protect that person. And finally, the reason she tried to get herself voted for both crimes was so that person went away alive. Now that we're all in the same page I want to make something clear:

There are only two people she would do this for. One is me. We're childhood friends, we greatly esteem each other, but Mimori-san and Koshimizu-san can prove I was in the First Floor, not in the Physics Laboratory with Lily. Besides I would never harm Yurie, no matter what she did. It's impossible I would kill her"

"I see! The other person, it is..." Romi pointed wildly at the culprit. One didn't need to think very long to know who it was.

"I'll also point the culprit can order Lily around. That person must have been one of the people who brought us to this meeting" Koshimizu added "You have a lot of explaining to do, eh, buddy?"

That was right. The culprit responsible for Yurie's death was...

* * *

Mitsuhiko Hikari

Shizuka Hasegawa

Mamoru Takayama

Akira Hosoya

Kimiko Sugita

Harumi Kayano

Tetsurou Koshimizu

Chiyo Yasumoto

Sumida Kishio

Kouhei Kobayashi

Daisuke Mitsuishi

Kumakichi Fukuyama

Hiyoko Romi

Kyrie Mimori

Yurie Oyama

Tohya Sasuga

Lily

Monobear

* * *

**Tohya Sasuga**

* * *

"Sasuga-kun. It's you" that was all Mitsuhiko said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so everything starts to go wrong from now on.


	31. Chapter 31

Sasuga took the accusation with admirable stoicism for somebody with his personality. Mitsuhiko completely expected him to cave down and start arguing how he couldn't be the culprit, but instead he took a shaky breath and with as much calm as he could muster he spoke.

"You have no proof I killed her, even if you say it was an accident. You can't prove I did such a thing"

"I admit there's no proof" Mitsuhiko confirmed "The only thing linking you to anything that happened is the Luminol used as a component for the accelerant, and that is only because you passed me the bottle once. That's hardly decisive evidence"

"Then how can you say with such certainty I killed her?"

"Because Kimiko is trying very hard to protect Yurie's killer. She once told me she'd do anything to protect you"

"Everybody says such things. If I were you I wouldn't give too much credit to the words of a lovestruck woman" Sugita said, jumping onto her partner's defense.

"I hate to admit it but she's right about that. There must be something else we can use, Hikari-kun" Koshimizu crossed his arms "Perhaps we can find a link between Lily and Sasuga-kun?"

"There's no such link!" Lily had joined the debate, a first in the game so far. Until now she had been content to stand on the sidelines and watch the commanders find the culprit by themselves, now she was standing on the end of the table, stomping as if that would make her words truer "Sasuga-kun has nothing to do with me"

"What do you suggest we do, then?" Kobayashi asked, indulging her.

"I suggest you listen to me! Don't underestimate me because I'm a little girl"

"Fine. We'll listen to you. What do you have to say?" Sugita accepted but much to her surprise none of the other commanders protested to Lily trying to get a word into the debate. Before she could change her mind Lily took the chance to join.

"Thank you! First, I admit it: I killed Oyama-san with my lasers. But it was not an accident. I knowingly did that on purpose because I was following orders!"

"For real?" Hasegawa raised her eyebrows almost mockingly "Will you tell us who gave you that order"

"...my directives won't allow me to indict my creator in any way, but even if I didn't have that order I wouldn't throw my creator under the bus like that"

"Oh, so it was your creator who gave you the order" Romi tapped her fingers on the table while Lily shook her head, distraught.

"No surprise the roboticist was the robot's creator. In hindsight it was obvious, wasn't it?" Hasegawa commented.

"No, no, no, no! That's not...dang it!" She certainly hadn't done her creator any favors now. Better to take another approach "Let me just tell you what happened, okay? That'll solve it"

_Lily is now trying to protect Sasuga. She doesn_ _'_ _t realize the more she fights the more likely it makes it I_ _'_ _m right. All I have to do is sit and let her have enough rope to hang her own creator with._

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Wooden Rods / Blood and Splinters / Monobear File 4.1 / Monobear File 4.2 /Lighter_

* * *

LILY: Oyama-san's death was **no accident**

LILY **: I placed sensors** in the hall to know when she was coming

MIMORI: I saw no sensors in there...

LILY: They burned away! That's all you need to know

LILY: I was **alone in the Physics Lab** , waiting

LILY: When I felt Oyama-san **walking by**...

LILY: I used my laser!

LILY: All that was me following **my creator** **'** **s orders**

MITSUHIKO: And you won't say a name, huh

LILY: Of course not!

* * *

"Well this is easy" Mitsuhiko was almost disappointed Lily had said such an huge contradiction...it made it way too easy to break down anything she could argue.

"Anybody can see what's wrong with her testimony" Sugita said quietly.

"What? What's wrong now? What did I say?" Lily asked, grinning nervously. Mitsuhiko shook his head, not even bothering to pretend this had been something he needed to think about.

"Lily, when was the last time you saw Oyama-san?"

"At the time of her death, of course! I didn't see her directly but I felt her walking in the hallway. That counts"

"And before that?"

"Before that? Umm...in the trial for the third murder" Lily wasn't sure where this was going to. Mitsuhiko took the Monobear File about Yurie and showed the photo to Lily.

"It's impossible Yurie was walking by or anything. She was crippled and had to use a wheelchair. I don't need to explain this any further"

Lily's horns opened and closed intermittently while she tried to think a way to escape the dead end she had gotten herself into. "This is, heh, okay, I get it, you, oh, darn, I..."

"Didn't your creator ever inform you about what happened to Oyama-san?" Mimori asked.

"I was never told that. Last time I saw her was during the trial"

"Everybody knew about Oyama-san's crippling" Sugita said "If you're trying to find Lily's creator by asking who didn't know then you'll be wasting your time"

"No, that's not my intention" Mitsuhiko argued "But it does throw some doubts onto Lily's insistence this was no accident. Remember where Yurie's wound was? Almost the top of her head. A few inches upwards and she would have been fine...well, she would have died by being burned alive but you get my point:

Wouldn't a murder ordered by one of us take into account Yurie's crippling?"

"I think they would make sure they were actually killing her" Sasuga nodded. "So yes, this was an accident"

Lily punched the table, leaving a dent in it. "It doesn't change anything" she grumbled "I did what my creator told me to do, and that's what matters here"

"It was an accident, that changes a lot. At the very least it shows your creator didn't have ill intentions, not that it matters to the bear" Mimori said.

"Fine, I can't tell you who my creator is but I do can tell you something: the instructions I received were given to me quite some time ago, because...my creator is already dead. Yeah, that's right"

"Really?" Sasuga groaned.

"Really!"

It was obvious nobody believed her. "Alright, let's continue with that. The fire, all that, did you do all that by yourself?"

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Mitsuhiko_ _'_ _s Testimony / Catalyst / Cable (Courtyard) / Yurie_ _'_ _s Mortal Wound / Kishio_ _'_ _s Cranium Fracture_

LILY: All my creator ordered was to burn the place down...

LILY: ...once there was a escape plan

LILY: I gave Kishio-sensei the idea to escape

ROMI: Did she set up the fire?

LILY: No! I did it all by myself

LILY: I **placed the mirror**

LILY: I **made the accelerant.**

LILY: **I spread it** around the hallway

LILY: I **broke the sprinklers**

LILY: I **lighted it up**

MIMORI: What did you do after the fire?

LILY: I went from the Third Floor to the First...

LILY: ...and stayed there until the trial.

ROMI: I can't believe it! Another big mistake

* * *

Romi noticed it before Mitsuhiko, but after thinking for a moment the hunter realized what she meant. It wasn't as obvious as thinking Yurie could walk, but there was a piece of evidence contradicting Lily's supposed involvement. "Lily, are you completely sure you didn't go to the Fourth Floor?"

"I didn't. What do you have to say now to that?" Lily seemed pretty sure she had created a flawless speech. Mitsuhiko just hoped the table wouldn't break after the punch it'd surely receive now.

"That it's impossible. I still think it's more likely Kishio-sensei is the one who spread the catalyst in the hallway, after all...the container was found melted with her in her clothes. Kimiko had put it in there. So tell us, Lily, how did a container you should have with you get to Kimiko's hands?"

"Oh. Uuuuh...I left it around somewhere?" That was not a good excuse.

"Right. We already defined Kimmy stayed all the time in the Fourth Floor. There's no way she could have gotten her hands on the container" Sasuga said mutely, taking Sugita's hand carefully. You're not doing yourself any favors, Lily. It'd be better to stop.

"To stop?! Are you listening to yourself?!"

"I know what I'm saying. Kimmy, Lily...let's not drag this any further. There's nothing to be done now"

"...I tried. I'm sorry for what I did, Tohya-kun"

"I won't say I approve it but..." Sasuga didn't even know what to say. Both Sasuga and Sugita were resigned to their fates.

"You're taking really calmly, Tohya-kun. Why's that?" Sugita had given up already. Although she had murdered Kishio intentionally, although she had been willing to let seven people die, including Mitsuhiko and potentially including herself...she didn't have a reason to continue fighting. Her attempt to protect Sasuga hadn't worked at all, in fact, it had incriminated him. Why to try anymore?

"I had enough time to get over it. I won't lie, for a moment I thought about trying to fight and arguing but...I can't allow everybody else to die for me. I must accept my punishment" Sasuga had given up already too. He hadn't even murdered intentionally, he had never thought about escaping via winning the trial. His conscience wouldn't allow him to let seven people die for him to live. Besides, he had understood his crime during the trial, sometime before he got accused. He had enough strength to keep his internal fight hidden, but now...why to try to get away with it?

"I'm sorry I killed Kishio-sensei, Tohya-kun..."

Sasuga didn't reply immediately. He caressed the back of Sugita's hand with his fingers, thinking. "...I don't approve what you did. I don't like that, not even a little bit! But..." he just didn't know what to say.

"Does that mean we're breaking up?"

"No"

Now that had been an immediate answer, and a very firm one too. Mitsuhiko felt a pang of jealousy at seeing how determined Sasuga was. Even if he didn't have a lot in the brains and common sense department, he did have a faithfulness Mitsuhiko lacked. He smiled faintly, looking at Sugita to the eyes. "We're staying together. To the end, Kimmy"

"To the end"

"...no. No, I won't allow it. I can't allow it!" Lily screamed.

Everybody, somehow Monobear included, had kept silent, letting Sasuga and Sugita talk with each other without interruptions, but now the robot girl was taking this in her own hands again. Even if the two culprits had given up, she wasn't willing to let her creator and his fianceé die if she could stop it. She strolled up to Mitsuhiko, aiming at him with her hand. "Take it back"

"Um..." Mitsuhiko opened his mouth but Lily's eyes shone dangerously.

"Take it back! Say it wasn't true. Say neither of them had anything to do with the murders"

"I won't, Lily. They're the culprits. I don't want to see them die but we don't have another choice right now"

"You-You monster...are you going to sit there and watch your friend die? Do you have no shame?!"

"What do you want me to do? I can't hold onto them and stop them from being executed, either they die or we all die!"

Lily knew he was right. She knew that, if he could, he would fight, but Monobear still had his claws all over the Headquarters. The masterminds were hidden and unreachable right now, there was nothing they could do. If she could cry she would right now. "Sasuga-kun has no relation with me. It's not proven he's the culprit! You can't link him with me in any way!"

"He practically said he accepts himself as the culprit" Sugita said.

"I don't care! That's no proof. My creator isn't Sasuga-kun; you can't prove he is, you can't!"

That wasn't going anywhere. Lily was pretty much the last obstacle in this trial. As long as she continued fighting the votes wouldn't happen, and if she was pushed any further...well, her directives included to help everybody to survive. She wouldn't go against them, would she? Sasuga didn't seem willing to intervene, so Mitsuhiko only had his wits to deal with Lily.

Good thing he knew what to say. "Actually, it can be proven Sasuga-kun had a big part in your creation"

"No way!" Lily stumbled back, still aiming towards Mitsuhiko "It's impossible, you can't know anything!"

_I do. He himself said it earlier, and you_ _'_ _re practically thrusting the proof in my face. Accept it, Lily!_

* * *

**Panic Talk Battle**

* * *

LILY: There's no proof!

LILY: He has no relation with my creation

LILY: Who do you think you are?!

LILY: I won't let you get away with this!

LILY: Sasuga-kun, say something!

LILY: You can't be serious

LILY: Nothing! There's nothing!

LILY: Stop that, please!

LILY: Did you think I'd ignore it?

LILY: I won't accept it!

* * *

**Tohya Sasuga** **'** **s Laser Specialization**

* * *

"Lily, there's a little something Sasuga-kun said earlier. He said that lasers were his specialization, didn't he? After all the Death Ray was his creation. Not only that, the Physics Laboratory has a heavy focus on lasers. The records say he was one of the few here allowed into the laboratory when there were restrictions, too"

"B-But that doesn't..." Lily tried to protest but Mitsuhiko was relentless.

"The lasers in your hands. There are a lot of roboticists in the world but I think Sasuga-kun is one of the few who would include lasers as your main weapon. It'd be like his trademark! Do you see now why we think there's a link between Sasuga-kun and you?"

"I still think we should have seen it coming much earlier" Koshimizu grumbled.

"We should have"

Lily kept her palm aimed at Mitsuhiko's face, but after a few seconds her palm closed, concealing the laser. "...I can't...what am I supposed to do now? I'm supposed to protect my creator but I can't do anything. Just what am I going to do now?"

"It's okay, Lily" Sasuga said, trying to console her. She slowly went to him, sitting on the table near him.

"Well, let's get this trial over, okay?" Mitsuhiko stretched and made his articulations pop "We all agree Kimiko and Sasuga-kun are the culprits. We all know how this went, don't we?"

* * *

**Climax Inference**

* * *

_The murder started with the First Culprit mixing up the accelerant. He included Luminol, canola oil and ethanol, creating a flammable compound Kishio would use to soak up the Cafeteria Hallway. The plan the culprits and Kishio created was simple: they_ _'_ _d cause a fire, possibly to distract the masterminds, and escape through a cable from the Lookout to the other side of the fence._

_Once the preparations for the arson were done, courtesy of Kishio, the First Culprit reunited with Lily in the Physics Laboratory. They had placed a mirror in the Courtyard, which would be used to ignite the accelerant. They moved aside the Death Ray and prepared Lily. Once it was time Lily fired her laser, igniting the fire._

_Unfortunately there was somebody trying to go through the hallway at that time: Yurie. The laser cut her head, killing her instantly, and her corpse was immediately surrounded by fire. Lily and the First Culprit didn_ _'_ _t notice, and continued with their lives._

_However the accident didn_ _'_ _t go unnoticed. Kishio and the Second Culprit were in the Security Room, watching the progress through the cameras. When they saw it, they knew it meant Sasuga was now a culprit and a trial would happen. But the Second Culprit couldn_ _'_ _t risk it. They killed Kishio by breaking a crossbow on her head, and it was done so there would be no witnesses to the First Culprit_ _'_ _s crime. But now there was another body to deal with._

_The Second Culprit took Kishio_ _'_ _s body to the Lookout, cut the cable to tie it around her feet, and soaked the body in accelerant to make sure it burned. She pushed the body, letting it fall towards the fence and burning her hands in the process. She screamed, several people hearing her scream and alerting them of her presence up there. That scream would lead to her capture._

_Two crimes, neither of them planned. And the culprits...are you two! Tohya Sasuga and Kimiko Sugita._

* * *

That summarized the events of that morning. Everybody accepted Mitsuhiko's tale, that seemed correct. "There's nothing you didn't find out. You're right about all that, Hikari-kun" Sasuga confirmed. Sugita did the same about her murder, it was settled.

"Then...are you really Lily's creator?" the hunter asked.

"I am. Lily is my best creation. I'm really proud of her" he put his hand on Lily's head "While I'm not the best with AIs at least we did a great job, didn't we?"

"You made the AI too?" Mimori was surprised. She would have expected Sasuga to have only created the robot body, not its personality too.

"...mostly"

"You got us here! You made us all be locked in this place and led to our deaths". What excuse do you have for that?"

Sasuga cuddled in his seat. "...technically I took a big part on that, but no. I didn't plan any of this. I just created Lily and sent the invitations"

"But you know who organized all this in the first place! Tell us. Is that person here among us?" Koshimizu asked. Finally, a chance to solve that mystery! Sasuga didn't seem willing to give that information, though. He didn't reply to that, instead standing up with Sugita.

"Monobear, don't we have some voting to do?"

"Nope!" he exclaimed "I'm very interested on hearing that too. So come on, fess up! We're all listening"

"Fine. Yes, that person is here"

"We want a name. Come on, give a name!"

Sasuga cringed. "Okay, I'm telling! Hasegawa-san and I were mere accomplices. The person who planned it all and called everybody here was..." Sasuga looked at everybody "...it was Kishio-sensei. Who else would it be?"

Kishio? It made some sense, after all Kishio and Sasuga were the main components on the escape plan. That'd explain why Kishio took the leader role too, even if she didn't try to escape until the recent times. Whatever reason Kishio had called them here had failed, it made sense.

Monobear was satisfied with Sasuga's answer, nodding. She was dead, did it matter anymore? All that was left was for Hasegawa to die and the three people who had tried to mess with Diavolos Avante's Main Board candidates were going to be eliminated. "Then let's get straight into the voting now! Will you vote correctly? Will you fall for the culprits' attempt to get away with their crimes? Let's start! Who is the culprit for Oyama-san's death?"

As expected, everybody in the room voted Sasuga as the culprit, and when Monobear ordered to vote for the culprit involved in Kishio's death Sugita was voted unanimously. Monobear, without bothering to hide his glee for the imminent execution of Sasuga and his fiancé, announced aloud. "You're all correct! Despite there being two different culprits you have pinpointed them correctly. Sasuga-kun and Sugita-san are the culprits!"

The announcement was received with silence. Nobody present really wanted to send neither Sasuga nor Sugita to their deaths but it wasn't like there was another option. Monobear, disappointed at the lack of protests or reactions, sighed despondently. "Fine! Let's get the trial over with. You two, follow me! It's time for your deaths" he walked to the entrance to the Meeting Room. Sugita and Sasuga took each other's hands but before they could leave Sasuga turned around.

"Lily? We're pretty much screwed. I suppose we'll have to take some drastic measures" Lily stood up straight and went to them. "Code 1774. Good luck" Lily's eyes shone for a moment before she nodded and went away.

"What was that?" Mitsuhiko frowned. That was something new. Of course Sasuga, as Lily's creator, surely had programmed something to happen with that code. Sasuga shook his head, inexpressive.

"Don't worry about that. We're done" Monobear closed the doors; the only thing left to do was to wait for the screen to show the horrible executions that would happen soon.

And just as expected, the screen descended from the ceiling and turned on.

* * *

**Teapots and Wires**

_The screen was divided in two. Sasuga and Sugita were in places that actually didn_ _'_ _t situations that didn_ _'_ _t relate to their talents in any way. Sasuga was trapped in what seemed to be a small metallic container, filled to his waist in water. Sugita was in a concrete room, littered with what seemed to be pieces of machinery and wires. Both were pretty confused on to what was going on. What were these places?_

_The method of execution became clearer when slowly both locations came to life. Sugita gasped when the robotic pieces started to move towards her, dragging the wires and metal on the floor towards her. Sasuga screamed in pain when bursts of steam emerged from the walls of the steel enclosure and leaves fell onto the water. It was more than clear their executions had been swapped between each other._

_The executions were quite drawn out. The commanders could only watch how the arms and wires held Sugita onto the floor, wrapping her tightly and immobilizing her. They watched how the water slowly started warming up, steam fogging up the camera. Once Sugita was completely immobile and once Sasuga was starting to stagger due to the concentrated heat, Monobear seemed to decide that was enough._

_The screen went black just in the moment the final blows happened. The sound of electricity coursing through the wires and onto Sugita_ _'_ _s body, and the sound of a teapot and boiling water mixed and sounded almost deafeningly loudly, mixing together to create a disorienting sound, and muted by those sounds the screams of the executed commanders. Mitsuhiko was very glad they weren_ _'_ _t being shown the finer details of Sugita and Sasuga_ _'_ _s deaths, because from the mere sound he knew watching them would lead to some serious trauma._

* * *

There were only six commanders alive now and neither of them felt with any strength to stand up and do something. That day they had lost four people, which was by itself pretty discouraging. The perspective of escaping was pretty much gone now, what were they going to do now?

"...so..." Mitsuhiko rubbed his arm awkwardly "Pretty rough, eh?"

"That's an understatement. There's not much we can do now. There'll be no new floor, there's no new area to explore, we're in the same situation than before, just that with less people" Koshimizu said.

"I don't know about you, guys, but I think we have lost any chances of escaping" Romi added.

"There must be something we can do; though" Mitsuhiko stood up "Do we need a leader?"

"Not really. What good would a leader be right now? It won't change much, what we need is a plan" Kobayashi said.

"Well I got one. You see, there are two places we haven't explored yet: the Basement and a part in the Third Floor that is bricked and inaccessible" Mitsuhiko explained "We should take a look what's in those places"

"It's worth a try. It isn't like we have new plans" Mimori stood up too "If the masterminds are in this building then they must be in one of those places. We find them, we get them to let us all go and liberate Veritas"

"Okay, let's give it a try. Follow me" Mitsuhiko, since he had been the one to bring up the new plan, decided to lead them to look for a way to break into those areas. If escaping was not an option then they'd fight. This had gone for long enough.

The commanders followed Mitsuhiko but the hunter stopped once they ascended to the Second Floor. There had been a change, something disquieting nobody in the trial room had expected. They didn't know what it meant, either, but if it was the last resort plan Sasuga had it was likely it was nothing good for anybody.

The banner decorating the Second Floor classroom hallway had been modified. 'Lily' had been scribbled over with a new addition, clearly done recently. The banner wasn't the onlyone fixed, though. The paper posters decorating the place had also been defaced to replace the former name with that new one. Mitsuhiko, not understanding what implications this could have to their wellbeing and plans, shook his head, trying to ignore it. He just hoped it wouldn't ruin the vague ideas they had just a few minutes ago.

'LILITH'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so that's the end of Chapter 4. I think this may be my favorite chapter in the series so far, including Graduate Meeting, so I'm particularly interested in feedback on it. It'd be great if you took a moment to inform me on how effective the plot the case itself were, as well as how well the characters dealt with it! Feel free to send me a private message or use a review/comment, whatever way you wish.
> 
> Thank you for your help.


	32. Intermission: Downwards Spiral III

When one imagines a very important person in a criminal organization one can imagine a lot of things. The stereotype usually is a tough person scowling and looking at you like you were no more than scum on their shoe. Hikaru wasn't expecting to see the stereotype enforced, after all that'd be ridiculous, wouldn't it? Even criminal masterminds were people.

Still, Vittoria Delacroix was not the person he had expected her to be.

She seemed to be of his age, for one, maybe a year or two older than him. He would have thought Hope's Peak would take her in under the title of SHSL Crime Overlord or something like that; it wouldn't be the first time Hope's Peak covers for somebody with a criminal background. Maybe she was too tough to handle or something like that.

Her black straight hair got down to her waist and covered most of her head. Hikari could see only part of her face, where a green eye peeked. She seemed rather beautiful.

When Hikaru entered she stared at him until he took a seat in front of her desk. "Hello..." Hikaru said tentatively. Something seemed to light up in her eye, he could even see a hint of a smile behind her hair.

"Good afternoon. I welcome you to my humble office, Mitsuhide-shi. Would you like to share a cup of tea with me?" she was impressively soft-spoken. He had expected her to be more assertive-sounding.

"Uh..." Getting offered a cup of tea wasn't his idea of how this was supposed to go. Vittoria tilted her head.

"Do you fear the tea may be laced with something nasty? That seems to be a rather common concern, from what I have been told"

"No, it isn't that! It's just that I didn't expect, um..."

"I try my best to keep everything civilized around here. Please, enjoy yourself while we discuss your potential career choices" Vittoria pressed a button underneath the desk, and soon another person came in. "Milgard, please bring us today is chosen tea. Do you wish any additions, Mitsuhide-shi?"

"No, thank you..." A while later Hikaru had a cup of some sort of tea he had never tried before. Vittoria had tried to do a bit more of small talk to get Hikaru be a bit more comfortable, but no matter what she did of course he wasn't going to forget right now he was right in front of the leader of a dangerous crime syndicate.

From what Yurie told him it seemed Diavolos Avante spawned in France several decades ago. They had quite a hold onto several countries, although it seemed like they kept the brutality to a minimum, at least that was what it seemed according to the media. Nobody wanted to go against them, and they valued loyalty over everything else.

"I have been informed by Oyama-shi you may be interested in joining our prestigious organization. May you please tell me more about that?"

"It's not much, I want to make my own path in life and, well, I don't think Hope's Peak is the best place for that" That summarized how he felt, although recently he had been having second thoughts.

"If the problem is Hope is Peak why do not you attempt to transfer onto my uncle is school? You shall be treated as you deserve, and the education you shall receive will be of the upmost caliber" Her extremely formal way of speaking was getting a bit awkward. She pronounced contractions in a way that made it sound stilted and unnatural. While she seemed like a kind person Mitsuhiko really didn't want to continue talking.

"That isn't the problem! I just want to...to find something to do with my life, something that isn't governed by a bunch of scientists trying to see what makes me tick" Hikaru's voice was raised, it was obvious to Vittoria he was very vehement about that "I don't know how the Delacroix school works but I don't feel ready to be in another posh prodigy school"

Vittoria stared at her tea, shaking her head. "Hope is Peak is a nightmare. I once received an invitation from them. I prodded around to see what I could find but the stuff I found out...they made me be afraid of them. You are doing well trying to get away" And them, moving to the point of her compassion:

"I can help you with that but it will have a cost. Are you willing to accept that?"

Hikaru didn't know much about how the world worked, but if there was one thing he didn't need to be told was that when dealing with dangerous people he needed to be careful. "What cost would it be?"

"Join us. Join Diavolos Avante, and work for me. Of course I will not force you; you are free to leave this room anytime you want"

"And what work would that be?"

Vittoria took out a small notebook, reading its content intently. "How do you feel about killing people? Oyama-shi is reports indicate you have hunting skills, which is exactly what we need. You will receive benefits and an outstanding dental plan, if you feel that helps" she smiled, perhaps that was a joke?

Just in case, Hikaru laughed. That didn't seem to have the effect he wanted because Vittoria glared at him. "If you do not feel it was funny then do not force yourself to laugh. It is insulting"

"I'm sorry" Goodness, this was like treading a minefield "I accept. Yurie talked to me about this already"

And so he had given his first step towards his future life as a hitman. No more hunting animals, no more shooting stuff in a laboratory so a bunch of scientists gathered data. Hikaru felt as if a weight was lifted off his shoulders, he was going to have a new life! It wasn't one his parents would have approved of, but he was satisfied with it.

Vittoria left her empty cup of tea aside, pulling out a map of Japan. The map had been heavily scribbled; this was the map of a strategist. "I welcome you to our group, Mitsuhide-shi. How do you feel about working in the prefecture of Kyoto?"

"Kyoto?!" Moving all the way to another prefecture was something he hadn't expected "Why Kyoto? Why not here?"

"Because we do not need a hitman anywhere else, of course. In the past I used to be the one to dole out "punishments", but since two years ago I cannot return to Kyoto" she seemed rather downcast from that, although her voice didn't show it, her visible eye had clouded. "You will be the one to replace me"

Hikaru felt curiosity, what could keep the leader of a criminal group away of a place? Especially one as supposedly powerful and widespread as Diavolos Avante, he just couldn't believe she would be kept away like that. "Can I ask why you can't return to Kyoto?" He immediately regretted asking. Was he seriously trying to pry in her new boss' business?

"You are one of us now. There is no reason why you should not know" She opened a drawer and took out a newspaper article, passing it to Hikaru. He took it, reading what it said.

It was an article about a murder that happened in the Prefecture of Kyoto. A person had been killed with a katana, and according to the article the prime suspect was the woman right in front of him. Then he noticed the newspaper article had been stapled to another, a smaller one. He read the second article with attention.

Vittoria Delacroix had indeed been the prime suspect, and therefore arrested for the murder. However the article informed the trial had ended in a not-guilty verdict, although it didn't give any details as to why. "I heard about this before! So you did kill-"

"I did. I was guilty. It was no more than mere luck I had such a skillful team of lawyers to defend me. Would you believe they were teenagers? Fifteen years old at most" Vittoria seemed to be rather fond of the lawyers she had in that trial "I offered them to join us, but they did not want to hear a word about that. Maybe if they had then they would not have gone the fate they suffered"

"Did they die?!"

"They did not! They suffered a fate worse than death" she leaned forward, whispering to Hikaru as if it were a secret that shouldn't leave the room "Hope is Peak got them as students"

_That is it?_ That sure was overly dramatic. Hikari laughed, truly amused. Vittoria, now feeling Hikaru's honest laugh, let out her mirth too, feeling she had done the right thing by accepting Hikaru into Diavolos Avante.

"Ah, Mitsuhide-shi. They are truly outstanding people. I am in contact with one of them, as friends. Maybe someday you will meet them, and hopefully in circumstances that will not involve a courtroom. Please, do not get caught.

You shall be given seven days to prepare yourself for your journey to Kyoto. During this time we will also arrange the closure of your life until now. Leave it all up to us, alright?"

"Thank you so much, Delacroix-sama"

"Please, call me Vittoria-sama. However there is one last matter" she stood up, leading Hikaru to the door "In order for your new life to start you shall need a new identity, a new name. Is there one you would like to have?"

Of course he didn't have a new name planned. Why would he? He dithered, thinking. "I didn't know I'd need a new name..."

"It does not need to be overly complicated. May I suggest you adapt your actual name into a new one? How about...Mitsuhiko? That is like your family name"

Mitsuhiko...well, in a way he liked the proposal. He loved his parents, he still missed them a lot, even after two years, and although they would be mightily disappointed in Mitsuhiko's choices he wanted to honor them.

Keeping his family name was the way to do that, wouldn't it? Wear it like a badge, even if it wasn't exactly like before. Mitsuhiko, that seemed nice enough. "I like it" he said "My new family name would be 'Hikari'. It means practically the same thing than 'Hikaru'"

"That could work. Mitsuhiko Hikari, that is your new name. I shall notify Oyama-shi, and she will perform her job.

We shall be leaving in a week! Here is my business card" _Head honchos have business cards?_ It was even written in there, 'Diavolos Avante, Co-Leader'! Getting caught with that card in his possession would be more than enough to link him to the organization.

"So you're the co-leader!"

"Similar to that. We have a Main Board, my uncle and I am the leaders. Milgard, you saw him, is a member of that board too" she smiled "A rather reliable group of people, if I may say so"

"Will I meet them?"

"Definitely not. Although loyalty is our main requirement, that does not mean we cannot exercise prudency. Each member chooses a codename"

So it was like a company. Diavolos Avante seemed stranger and stranger with each word, as if it could be a legitimate enterprise and not...well.

"Please enjoy your evening, Hikari-shi. I will contact you in one week, and so we will travel to Kyoto together"

"Together?! Are you going to escort me?" The co-leader of Diavolos Avante was going to escort him to Kyoto?

"Do you mind that? You will not need to pay for transportation" Vittoria offered her hand, trying to seal the deal with a handshake. He firmly took hers, feeling hopeful for the future.

Hikaru...Mitsuhiko knew this was going to be the start of a new phase of his life. With Vittoria as a friend the world seemed boundless.


	33. Chapter 5: Long Live the King (Ab)normal Days I

Mitsuhiko was speechless, staring at Lily's modified name. If Monobear had been busy with the executions and everybody else was in the Meeting Room then that left Lily as the only one who could have done that.

...maybe calling her Lilith was better now. But what did that change entail? What did it mean for the commanders here?

"I d-don't like how this looks" Kobayashi huddled closer to Koshimizu, looking at the banner with fear.

"There's nothing to be afraid of. Lily's directives included not to hurt us" the medic said.

"But that was before that new code was given. For all we know that code was meant to make Lily forget all directives and follow new orders" Hasegawa pointed.

"You were part of his rebel group or whatever that was!" Mitsuhiko confronted her "You tell us what this development means"

"How do you expect me to know? I didn't create Lily, it was all him"

"We don't have time to think ab-about that" Kobayashi took a few deep breaths, turning around to not to see it "We need to explore the Basement and that other place"

"I suggest we take a moment to look for potential weapons" Mimori proposed "We are going to potentially meet the people keeping us locked in here, the people behind Monobear. We need to protect ourselves"

"Good idea. Let's meet here again in fifteen minutes"

"I don't like the idea of us going around with weapons" Romi said "One of us could attack somebody else"

"Really? After everything that has happened you still think one of us would kill? None of us have any illusions of getting to the Main Board by now" Koshimizu pointed "There's no reason to kill anybody"

"...you are right. Sorry, these weeks have me with frazzled nerves. I can't even use any weapon effectively by myself, either"

"You used a knife very well against that mannequin" Kobayashi bit his thumb.

"Did you even hear what you said?"

"Guys, enough. We're going to get weapons" Mitsuhiko started to descend the stairs "I have two guns. If any of you need one please feel free to come with me"

"I'll take the offer" Koshimizu said "I have experience with guns"

And with that, the matter was settled. Mitsuhiko and Koshimizu went to Camp Monobear, to Mitsuhiko's room. Walking near of where Yurie had died made Mitsuhiko stop for a moment, freezing in front of his classroom door. "Are you feeling okay, Hikari-kun?" Koshimizu asked quietly.

"...it feels so unreal to know she died because of an accident caused by...well..."

"By the robot girl we knew was on our side and would only intentionally attack a bear? Yes, that is tough" he scratched his head "I'll be honest, Hikari-kun, I really didn't like her. But you have my condolences either way"

Well that wasn't very tactful. Still, now that he knew exactly what happened to Yurie he strangely...felt better about that. Even Koshimizu's relatively insincere words helped to feel better about it. Mitsuhiko sighed. "Thank you, man. I still can't believe she is gone"

"You'll have to accept it sooner or later. Right now you have to deal with the living, and that's hard enough without having to drag grief with you. So let's focus on what we came here for, okay?"

"Yeah" Mitsuhiko opened the door to his bedroom, entering and going straight to the box. That's where he kept his extra gun, the other one was secured to his belt. Mitsuhiko opened the box and took out the Twin Beretta. "Here"

"Hikari-kun, I don't mean to be an ungrateful bastard, but that gun is a hassle. You have no idea how uncomfortable I felt with that. Can I have the other one?"

"Sure, I suppose" the exchanged guns, Mitsuhiko keeping the Twin Beretta while Koshimizu kept Mitsuhiko's personal gun. Koshimizu aimed at the wall, trying to get a feel of the gun itself.

"Yessss, this is good. Thank you, I'll give it back to you when everything is over. By the way..." he put the gun away in his pocket "...would you like to be our new leader?"

"Me?" Mitsuhiko definitely didn't expect that "Are you sure about that?"

"I think by now you have shown you have the necessary skills for that. Believe it or not, our general consensus is to listen to you. I'm sure if you killed somebody you could get away with it because everyone trusts you. I'm sure nobody would protest if you took the mantle"

"I'm the commander of the prefecture of Kyoto but I don't think I'm ready for this" that was his answer.

"Nonsense! Besides, it's thematically fitting. Isn't your codename Cerberus? You know who Cerberus is, don't you?"

"Giant dog, three heads. Guardian of the gates of hell or something like that. Why should I care?"

"It could be said you have kept most of us away of hell while sending the guilty souls into it. It's a bit on-the-nose, but it's interesting" Koshimizu smirked, amused. Mitsuhiko didn't agree, though.

"Sorry, not interested. Let's all be co-leaders" that was the end of the discussion. They got out of the hall, going to be Lobby where they found everyone else. Romi had taken a knife with her. Judging by the jam that still stained it, it seemed like it was the one she used to kill the mannequin, and it had been in the same place for a while. A cut from that would be likely to give an infection.

Mimori had her pens in both hands. "Is that it? Pens?" Koshimizu narrowed his eyes.

"Have you ever got one of these babies staked onto your hand? It hurts. It hurts a lot" Mimori rubbed her hand. Knowing there was no sense on arguing that Koshimizu let her be.

Kobayashi had taken a hammer from the Carpentry Workshop while Hasegawa took the whittling knife she had used to stab Mitsuishi, thankfully that weapon had been cleaned. All in all everybody had a weapon to use. They were ready to fight, if it was needed. Hopefully the masterminds wouldn't try to fight back, but Mitsuhiko had the feeling if they had done something like kidnapping Veritas and throw them onto a mutual killing game then they wouldn't go down without trying to cause some grievous harm.

"Alright, what do we start with?" Kobayashi twirled the hammer in his hands "With the Basement or with the Third Floor?"

"I think we should try the-"

"What, don't I get a say? What am I, chopped bear liver?"

Mitsuhiko groaned, knowing this was bound to happen. "Fuck off, Monobear. We're busy here" The bear didn't leave and nobody truly expected him to leave. He just leaned against the wall, as if he were doing nothing worse than hanging out with the commanders.

"But we're talking about investigating the most important places in this building! Shouldn't I do my duty as the villain of this story? I know a few good lines about futility and the despair of trying to find anything!"

"We can live without them. None of you will get away of us. We'll find you and then-"

Monobear laughed uproariously. Something about his laugh had changed. Until that day his laughs and chuckling seemed to have a certain dose of fakeness, but now the laugh had some true malice behind it. Mitsuhiko felt the person giving Monobear his voice and personality was still the same, but _something_ had changed. "Really? Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong! You didn't expect us to stand around and wait for you to catch us. While you six were busy getting your weapons we took the chance to run away.

We're now locked in a cramped, uncomfortable room but at least we have each other, don't we, Junko?"

"Totally!"

"You betcha"

It sounded like two different people had shouted from somewhere, all of them sounding exactly the same with Monobear's voice. There were definitely three different people in the same place, and by the fact Monobear was being controlled right now they could only be in the Fourth Floor, in that room where Monobear was controlled from.

There were other matters to pay attention to, though "Junko? Enoshima? You can't be talking to Enoshima. She is dead!"

"We saw that through the broadcast!" Kobayashi added "It can't have been fake, can it?"

"Fake? No, that was true as truth, I am dead, delightfully dead and crushed" Monobear scratched his head "I'm dead yet my despair continues to live on, that sure says something! But forget about my past, let's talk about the present.

So you want to enter the endgame? That is not going to be easy. For us to accept defeat you will have to solve every single mystery this building has to offer. And just to make it a bigger pain in the ass I don't mean just the mysteries related to me: you will have to solve all mysteries related to the people who called you here!"

"We already know which commanders are responsible of that. We don't need to answer anything else" Mimori crossed her arms.

"Really? Are you going to be satisfied with that? Pitiful, how pitiful, and here we thought you were a journalist. This generation is doomed in more ways than four" Mimori grit her teeth, barely keeping herself together from the insult.

"I think it's obvious all of us accept that challenge" Romi said.

"I didn't expect anything less from the last few commanders DeeEy has. I better go and get ready for the trial! But first you should try going outside, you'll find a bamboozling development!" and with that he left.

The commanders looked at the entrance of the Headquarters. "Outside? What could be outside now?" Mimori wondered, starting to descend the stairs with Mitsuhiko. "There are three places to check, then. Maybe we should form teams and explore-"

"Something is wrong here" Mitsuhiko had grasped the doorknobs and was trying to pull the door open, but they didn't budge. The door wasn't locked, in fact Mitsuhiko was able to open it slightly, enough to let light enter through the thin space between the doors, but suddenly it felt like something grasped the door outside and forced them to close.

"Is there somebody outside?" Hasegawa had joined them, trying to see through a nearby window. "I don't see anybody"

"But there's something here. What are those?" Mitsuhiko narrowed his eyes, eyeing the strange objects crossing the windowpane. It seemed like very thin razor wire, several strands of platinum metal, all of them converging onto the main doors.

"Looks like the doors are being held together by some sort of wires. Monobear must have tied them together" Romi mused.

"Yeah, he wants us to see this and panic or something" Koshimizu crackled his knuckles and tried to open the window, pushing it upwards. Nobody expected to see what happened now, though.

The moment the window started to be opened the wires sprung into life. Somehow, those wires tightened and pushed the window down until it was completely closed. Koshimizu stepped back, flabbergasted. Once it was clear nobody would try to open it again the wires loosened, returning to its inactive state. "What the heck was that?"

"I don't feel so sure this is Monobear's work anymore. Where did this come from?" Hasegawa seemed really uncomfortable with this development "But he knew about this. I don't know what to think"

"Everybody, check other windows. We need to find out if there's some way to get outside" Romi proposed, going towards the hall to the Administrative Offices. The group separated and all went to different places in the First Floor, trying to open a window enough to get out but they all saw the same thing at the other side of the glass: thin wires, forming webs. Each time a window opened those moved and closed the window without giving time to even put anything to keep it open.

Mitsuhiko felt greatly unnerved, he couldn't understand what was this strange object wrapping the outer walls. Between the defaced banner in Camp Lily and the steel webs outside he was starting to feel something had gone very wrong. This whole day had been one disaster after another, and with their luck it was unlikely it was going to end any soon.

"It's the same everywhere. We just can't go outside anymore" Koshimizu concluded when they reunited just a few minutes later.

"W-Well, let's not let this lead us astray. We need to go into the Basement and the Third Floor" Hasegawa adjusted her courier cap.

"Right. What do we start with?"

"The Third Floor. Part of it was bricked, that should be enough to show there may be something important there!" Kobayashi suggested. That was fine with everybody; did it really matter where they went to first?

The group ascended to the Third Floor. "Hikari-kun, where is this Third Floor part you were talking about?" Kobayashi looked around the hallway, not seeing anything unusual.

"Uh, it's a bit hard to explain. Listen, when the Third Floor opened I noticed there was this balcony, and I saw a door leading somewhere inside, but there was no path to arrive there. It seems like the access to a section of the Third Floor was bricked and painted over to the point nobody would have guessed it existed" Mitsuhiko explained.

"Are you sure it exists? Maybe that balcony was a construction mistake or something like that" Romi said.

"No, I have proof it exists. There's this room in the Fourth Floor where one can control the shutters we saw blocking the way in several places. It has this map and it shows a couple rooms, inaccessible to us. All we need to do is find where the path to that place may be, and break the wall open"

"Oh, we just need to break a wall!" Kobayashi said sarcastically "Fine, let's try that. That room you mentioned has a map. We can use that to pinpoint where the hall to those places used to be!"

"Good idea, but maybe we can get to the balcony we won't need to break any walls" Koshimizu said. Mitsuhiko saw merit to the idea, maybe between the six of them they could think of a way to get to the balcony. It would potentially be easier and quicker than breaking the wall, so the hunter led them to the Astronomy Laboratory.

Or at least that was his intention. While the Astronomy Laboratory had no doors, the way to the balcony was blocked with so many metallic wires none of them could pass through. Thankfully none of them moved or tried to strangle them, but there was simply no way to pass through.

"We can't even enter the balcony? That settles it, Monobear is blocking the ways out to hinder our investigation" Romi touched the wires "I bet he also blocked every single window in this building with this stuff"

"It doesn't matter now. Koshimizu-san, I think you should be the one to go check the map with Hikari-kun. Let's break this hopeless situation!"

Koshimizu didn't seem very impressed when he saw the primitive map in the screen, but at least Mitsuhiko had been telling the truth. He could see the bricked area of the Third Floor, balcony included. There were three small rooms and nothing more, and the hallway to enter seemed to be located between the Astronomy and Physics Laboratories. Just in case Mitsuhiko made sure the shutter was going to be open once they broke the wall to save some time. Monobear was already counting down their investigation time, if they didn't hurry then who knew what could happen.

Chances are Monobear was going to push for a trial. He loved those things. Their only option was hurry up and hope the masterminds' patience was going to last long enough for them to give their plans a try.

On the other hand, were they going to let them, in the first place? Mitsuhiko expected a positive answer, after all in the school mutual killing game he had seen in one of the hijacked broadcasts he had noticed Junko had let the surviving students investigate to their hearts' content, even letting them enter where she was hiding.

_Six students survived that school game, six commanders are left. By all means we should all be able to stay alive and get a happy ending. We are six highly capable adults used to the bitter turns of life. If six high schoolers managed to survive there_ _'_ _s no excuse for us failing!_

-ooooo-

Breaking a wall was a difficult task, they soon found out.

The fact they didn't have tools to perform the task made it even worse. When Koshimizu and Mitsuhiko returned to the Third Floor they pointed the section of the wall most likely to contain the bricked wall. Everybody immediately went to look for anything that could help them break the wall.

There was nothing inside the building they could use. Koshimizu brought up a piece of furniture from the Lounge and started to hit the section of the wall with it, using all his strength. It accomplished absolutely nothing other than turning the sizable chair into a pile of broken pieces.

"This is impossible. Are we even hitting the right spot?" Koshimizu muttered, kicking away the broken chair.

"You're the one who said that's where the hallway was!" Mitsuhiko exclaimed "Besides if we have to hit every inch of this wall until we find the right spot then we're not going to accomplish anything. This is useless"

"What if your dearly Veritas is in that abandoned section?" Hasegawa asked.

"Highly unlikely. Veritas was kidnapped by the Main Board; they must have easy access to him. They wouldn't put him in here unless they have some way to easily access the hidden section of this floor. It's more likely Veritas is in the Basement"

"Then why are we here and not trying to open the basement? We have to save Veritas!" Mimori shouted and started to jog towards the stairs. Since finding a way onto the closed section of the Third Floor ended being impossible for now they decided to go to the Basement.

"I don't have any hopes he's still alive" Mitsuhiko said while they were walking "I bet the Main Board killed him quite some time ago, they created that video a long time ago and all that"

"No, he must still be alive. It can't be we're late to save him! You're not going to abandon our leader, are you?" Mimori had turned around, glaring at him with fury. She was so angry Mitsuhiko felt the need to take back what he said, but he didn't. He just didn't think Veritas was still alive.

"I have to agree with Mimori-san. Let's hope Veritas is alive and let's do o-our best to save him" Kobayashi agreed.

When they arrived to the Basement Romi grasped the doorknob and tried to open the door, finding it locked. "We could break the lock. This is not a wall, surely we can do something"

"Or we could dismantle the lock" Koshimizu suggested.

"If all that was possible why didn't we do this before? We could have caught the Main Board earlier if any of us had thought about breaking the door or dismantling the lock?" Kobayashi asked, quite rightly. Everybody shuffled around awkwardly, not sure how to answer such a glaring inconsistency in their behavior.

"I thought Veritas and the villains were in the last floor" Romi finally said "And after we saw they weren't all I could think of was to escape"

"That's the same stuff I thought! My bad, heh..." Mitsuhiko was almost blushing. What an oversight!

"Okay, let's get going with the lock breaking plan" Romi went to the Carpentry Workshop, where she retrieved a couple screwdrivers.

Dismantling the lock was quick, and soon the Basement stairs were seen. Mitsuhiko touched the nearby walls, trying to find a light switch. "This is the Basement of this whole building. There must be a lot of space, so keep your eyes open" he instructed once the light was turned on.

He had been right. The Basement was full of boxes and pipes, providing the Headquarters with the basic services. The group walked around them, looking at the floor to see if Veritas was anywhere, but there was nothing that indicated he had been kept anywhere in this area. "Hey, I think there are paths over there" Mimori pointed at three doors nearby. Two were wide open, the other was closed. Mitsuhiko, not feeling the need to wield his gun since he knew the masterminds were in the Fourth Floor, decided to enter first.

This seemed to be where the masterminds spent their time. There were tables, empty cups of coffee, a recently-destroyed station resembling the one that controlled Monobear in the Fourth Floor, and a few mattresses. There was even a fridge, filled with food. In a corner of the room there were two open boxes. Koshimizu took a look inside them.

"Bullets and munitions" he informed, taking a few. Mitsuhiko, being the resident gun expert, approached and took one.

"These are bullets for a gun like my Twin Beretta, and the munitions seem to be for a common shotgun. Why do they have these, I wonder?"

"Does it matter? Unless Veritas is somehow packed in the b-bottom of a box and under the bullets then we should l-leave that aside" Kobayashi said, leaving the room. It didn't seem like there was anything useful in this section of the basement, so they left and decided to go to the other open door.

It was completely dark and there was an unpleasant scent in the air. It smelled like mold, but there was another coppery smell that put everybody at edge. "Smells like blood. I don't like this, I don't like this at all..." Hasegawa whispered, straining her eyes to peek through the darkness.

"There must be a light switch somewhere here. I'll deal with that" Mitsuhiko started looking for it, touching the wall near the door.

"I admit I feel afraid of what we may find. If it smells like blood it can only be from Veritas" Romi said, standing as far as possible from the door. Blind or not, finding the dead body of the leader would be quite a shock. Mitsuhiko felt the nub of the light switch and pushed it, illuminating the room.

It was no surprise there was a scent of blood. There was no corpse around, but the walls and the floor were splattered with blood. Most of it seemed to be old, at least having been there for days, but other seemed fresher. The one closest to Mitsuhiko was very fresh; his fingers had brushed against it when looking for the light switch. Disgusted, he tried to clean his fingers on the wall. "What the heck happened in here?!" Mimori screamed.

"Is this all Veritas' blood? Did we arrive too late?" Kobayashi had paled, his eyes darting around.

"It's possible, but I don't think the blood is exclusively his. Either way, it seems to me somebody bled here recently" Romi said "It smells...fresh"

The room didn't end there, though. There was a passageway at the end, and what seemed to be like bloody drag marks leading in there. Gathering courage Kobayashi walked in there, getting to the end. "There's nothing here! It's just an empty room"

"Really?" Mimori trotted to his side, looking around the small chamber. The floor made of dirt and earth was uneven, mounds everywhere "You're right but here, take a look. There's old and fresh blood here too, like puddles. It's like bloody corpses laid here for a moment. Why would that happen? There's something very sketchy going on"

"But Veritas is not there either. That leaves the closed room as the only possibility" Kobayashi practically ran out of the bloodied rooms, going towards the last door in the Basement. Mitsuhiko was the last person who left the room, but before he left he noticed an object everybody else seemed to miss. In a dark corner there was a shotgun. Intrigued, Mitsuhiko took it for a moment, examining it. Seemed like a normal shotgun, nothing unusual, but tip of the barrels were covered in blood too, and just like the walls, floor and the other chamber, there was old and fresh blood too.

A thought suddenly occurred to him. It was something he had never thought of before but it made sense! He wasn't completely sure, though, so he decided to keep his sudden idea to himself for now.

"This isn't opening at all. Hey, Koshimizu-san, where did you leave the screwdrivers?" Kobayashi was saying when Mitsuhiko rejoined the group.

"That won't work. This lock won't let itself be dismantled. The only solution will be to break the door" the medic said.

"It'll take a while but it can be done. What can we do in the meanwhile?" Mimori asked

"I suppose we should get out of this basement. Let's see if there's anything to be done outside, maybe give another try to the Third Floor problem" Romi replied, smiling to Koshimizu "You can stay here and break the door, Koshimizu-san. I think I'll rest for a moment"

"A rest sounds nice! Let's go"

Koshimizu, while obviously not happy about being left alone to deal with the task, didn't try to stop them. The rest of the commanders left the Basement. "So, I think we should all separate and look for a way to go outside or something like that" Kobayashi looked around as if he expected a passageway to the outside "We have a whole building to check"

The plan was agreed. Maybe there was a window in one of the floors that wasn't secured. Maybe the Lookout or the Roof were available options. They had to check everything they could think. Mitsuhiko, not convinced whatever was blocking the windows and doors would leave any possible way out, decided there was something else to be done:

Wander around and talk to people. The truth was that he wanted to rest and mull everything he had seen in the Basement. Many ideas were springing to his mind but he wasn't sure of their significance or importance. He decided to wait until Koshimizu broke the last Basement door before telling anybody else.

For now, he had people to talk with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it's time for the final two Free Time events. If there's anybody you want to talk with feel free to notify me through any way you can think!
> 
> Let it be known Koshimizu is not an option, though. He's too busy for chatter right now


	34. Chapter 5: Long Live the King - (Ab)normal Days II

Mitsuhiko caressed the trigger of the Twin Beretta, thoughtful. This was going to the moment of truth. If Veritas was behind that door it would define what would happen from now on. Was he alive? Was he dead?

And what would they do with those results? The masterminds didn't have access to the cameras, but they did have access to Monobear. If they so willed, they could call for a trial to solve the mysteries right there and now. But they had almost no evidence of anything! They would fail.

Messing his hair, Mitsuhiko put away the gun and decided to look for somebody to talk with. Anything to help soothe his nerves while Koshimizu worked on that door. He felt like he wanted to run away, run until he reached the edge of the world, but that was not a possibility. Maybe some social interaction would help.

Mitsuhiko found Kobayashi in the Fourth Floor, sitting in the Waiting Room. He had his head in his hands, it seemed like he was under great turmoil. "Amy? Is everything okay?"

"Hikari-kun" Kobayashi raised his head, realizing the hunter was there. He scuttled to a side of the couch, leaving enough space for Mitsuhiko to sit. They sat together in silence for a while, each of them unsure of what to say.

Kobayashi was the one who broke the silence. "Hey, did I tell you already I'm a bounty hunter?"

"You did that already. I think you even threatened me or something" He hadn't done that. He had just said Mitsuhiko had a prize on his head, and that he hadn't decided to try to claim it.

"Right. Hikari-kun, you know I hate you, but did...what I told you...did that make you hate me too?"

Mitsuhiko thought for a moment. He didn't hate Kobayashi at all. He was more indifferent towards him than anything else, no, that wasn't right. He felt pity for Kobayashi. He had thought Kobayashi didn't belong as a commander; he didn't seem like the right person for the job, and now that he knew what Kobayashi was capable of he had to admit his opinion of the illusionist had changed.

Kobayashi was an illusionist who had been forced to take the profession of a bounty hunter in order to earn enough money to survive. Maybe that's what made him join Diavolos Avante, Mitsuhiko and Kobayashi weren't as different as the hunter had thought at first. "I don't hate you. I admit I was creeped out but it's no big deal"

"Oh. Right" Kobayashi was in silence for a bit longer "So, I'm a bounty hunter. My job is to catch criminals and take them to the police. It goes very well, I have more money than I thought I'd ever have, and then...I must have been pretty good at that because I got given a very difficult job"

"But you said you were a great bounty hunter, it can't have been that hard"

"It was difficult because it was a high profile job: I was given a file and an order: I had to capture Vittoria Delacroix"

Oh. That definitely had to be a difficult task. Mitsuhiko clenched his fists, though. He did know something about Vittoria, but her present whereabouts were unknown. Was Kobayashi responsible for that?

Because Vittoria Delacroix had been missing for years. "Did you do it? Did you capture her?" Mitsuhiko was ready to slug Kobayashi if he admitted he had anything to do with Vittoria's disappearance. She was Mitsuhiko's friend, and although he bitterly regretted having joined Diavolos Avante he didn't blame Vittoria for that.

Kobayashi smiled wistfully. "No. I couldn't capture her. I did confront her i-in her office, though...I was ready to knock her out, tie her and take her to the closest p-police precinct, but I made a big mistake. I underestimated her"

"Did you seriously think you could try to capture the co-leader of DeeEy?" Mitsuhiko smirked, noticing now his hands had relaxed. It was good to know Vittoria didn't let herself be captured by Kobayashi.

"I almost did it, you know! But she detected me at the last moment, and before I knew it she had a katana against my neck. My life fla-flashed, uh, it flashed in my eyes, I think I almost soiled myself, heh"

"Why didn't she kill you?"

"Because I fought back. I threw myself on the floor and managed ma-make her fall. We wrestled for a moment until she, well, she defeated me. She pinned me do-down, and I was sure that, uh, that was my end"

Kobayashi, despite his gentle and somewhat shy tone, had an expression of pure admiration. Seems like meeting Vittoria was also life changing for other people as well, not only for Mitsuhiko. He continued: "She had me ready, but instead of driving her katana through my chest she gave me her hand and helped me to stand up. I was so, so bewildered!"

"Vittoria has a fearsome title but she's actually a very kind person" A very kind person who murders with a katana. As long as nobody got in her bad side she was a person it was worth being friends with. Kobayashi seemed to know how close he was to be another victim, and unlike the case in Kyoto maybe she wouldn't have been caught for it.

"I know! She helped me stand up, and said I had done a great j-job sneaking into the building and getting to her office. She complimented my fighting, although, eeeh..." Kobayashi scratched his cheek "...although I was just thrashing around. I didn't trust her at first, but then she offered me to join DeeEy"

"And you accepted" Mitsuhiko said, nodding.

"At first I thought it was pity, but she said she saw potential in me. She made sure I understood what I was joining in, but it seemed...the right thing for me. And she said she was going to give me a salary I could use to live without any problems. I..." Kobayashi's eyes were watering "...I was so grateful I started crying and she...she hugged me and said it was all okay. She may have been a fearsome criminal, but I...I felt so...I don't know how to describe it"

Mitsuhiko understood just what he meant. In the past the hunter had discovered he had a crush on Vittoria, but she never seemed interested in romantic relationships with anybody. The crush withered away until it was completely gone. "I know what you mean, Amy. She was a great help to me too. I don't like DeeEy anymore, but I'll be eternally thankful of everything Vittoria has done for me"

The hunter felt he understood Kobayashi a little better now. He was still a shy and unassuming person, but he had tried his best to go forward with his life, soon all of it leading him into Diavolos Avante. In a way, he felt they could be friends someday.

_We spent a while talking about Vittoria_ _'_ _s influence in our lives._

-ooooo-

Remembering how much Vittoria believed in him and how much he enjoyed her friendship gave Mitsuhiko courage to endure what was going on. Deciding to go check how Koshimizu was doing, Mitsuhiko left Kobayashi in the Waiting Room and started descending towards the Second Floor to go to the Basement. However, in middle of the Third Floor, he found something rather strange and disquieting.

Hanging from a grate on the ventilation shaft on the ceiling, there were several wires hanging. They were the exact same kind of wires that were blocking the doors and windows and moving outside the Headquarters.

The wires were waving from side to side, and Mitsuhiko, unsure of what he was seeing, approached slowly. The wires didn't seem to notice his presence; they continued waving around as if there was a breeze. Slowly, Mitsuhiko raised his hand and tried to touch one of the wires.

The wires reacted instantly. Before Mitsuhiko could react the wires entangled not only on his hand, but also on his wrist. He could feel it digging into his skin, and soon some blood started to trickle. Gasping in pain Mitsuhiko tried to pry away the wires, but soon they surrounded his other hand too. Once that was done, it started to pull him upwards, lifting him from the floor.

"What the heck?!" Mitsuhiko screamed, trying to pull away, but the wires were too strong. The wires were trying to pull him into the ventilation shaft! His head hit the grate while the wires attempted to break the grate.

Luckily for him, the wires had only grabbed his hands and wrists, so they didn't have enough of a grasp to hit the grate with his body until it broke. Soon, with the combined force of Mitsuhiko's struggling, the bad grasp the wires had and the force of the blows against the grate made him be able to slip away.

Mitsuhiko fell heavily against the floor, whimpering slightly. His wires and hands were badly scratched, and they stung terribly. The bloodied wires retracted into the ventilation shaft, and the hunter could swear he heard them slithering away through the metal of the shaft. "What the hell was that?!" Something was very wrong, and he was starting to suspect what it was. There were very few things that could be.

Those wires...that had been Lilith, wasn't she? Why did she try to force him into the ventilation shaft? That was barely wide enough to contain him; it would have been a heck of a tight fit. Nobody who was alive right now would have been able to crawl in there, did Lily seriously expect him to not to get stuck?

Feeling the pain from the scratches, Mitsuhiko practically ran away towards the Infirmary in the First Floor. In the way there he found more wires hanging from several other grates, always from the ventilation shafts. They didn't only come from the ceiling, either, a few grates on the wall and near the floor had wires coming out of them, lying on the floor and moving as if they were expecting to catch somebody.

Enduring the pain for a moment, he crouched nearby, Lilith's wires once again not reacting. "What are you doing, Lily? What is going on here?" There was no answer. "Um, Lilith?" Calling her with her new name didn't help either. It seemed that she wasn't going to cooperate in any way.

What were her intentions now? What did Sasuga activate shortly before his execution?

-ooooo-

Mitsuhiko disinfected and wrapped his wounds with bandages. The Infirmary was just like always. Medicines, a fridge full of bags for blood transfers, the few beds, etc. Despite all the deaths and all the wounds the commanders had suffered during their stay in the Headquarters, it was always comforting to know there was a place one could trust to be useful and safe for everybody.

After making sure there was no more blood flowing from the wounds on his hands, he decided to check on Koshimizu. "Hey! Koshimizu-san! Any progress?" he called from the entrance to the Basement. The echo was going to be enough to get ths message to the medic.

"Nothing. I'm still working on this" A bang accentuated Koshimizu's assertion. "Goddamnit, this is one tough door"

"Alright, thank you" Koshimizu was still hard at work, that was nice, but it seemed like this was going to take a bit more than he thought.

Making sure the bandages weren't sticking to his skin too much, Mitsuhiko decided to go to the Lounge. There he found Hasegawa, rooting through the courier bag she had brought onto the Headquarters the first day. "Wow, I never realized how heavy this thing was. How did I ever carry all these bricks?"

"Bricks? As in literal bricks?" Well that was weird.

"Yes, I had to play the role of a courier. We thought it'd be more convincing if I brought one of these" she raised her head, noticing Mitsuhiko's hands "What happened to your hands?"

"Oh! If you see wires hanging anywhere don't dare to touch them. That is not a good idea"

"I have seen those wires. I didn't touch them, but they were moving so creepily! What the heck are those?"

Mitsuhiko sat on the couch. "I think it's Lily...Lilith. Whatever Sasuga activated is doing that"

Hasegawa didn't have any reaction to that other than a 'huh, right'. She stood there, rooting through her bag and leaving on the floor all the bricks she had brought. Mitsuhiko had a lot of questions to ask her. She had told him a long time ago her real name was Emiko Hasegawa-Nakai. That had been half a lie; she was actually named Shizuka Nakai, Hasegawa being her husband's family name.

But that told almost nothing about who she was. Now that he knew Hasegawa was one of the people who had gotten everybody to gather here, he had even more questions. The big question, though, was...'are you with the Future Foundation?' Yasumoto had assured him there was no way Hasegawa was with them, though.

"I see you have a question for me, Hikari-kun" she said, staring at him. Mitsuhiko realized something in his expression had revealed he wanted to talk to her, so why not to take the chance and ask her something?

"So, why did you collaborate with Sasuga-kun and Kishio-sensei?" Hasegawa's brow twitched for a moment, but that was gone soon.

"Because I wanted answers. I wanted to know what happened to my sister and to my husband. There was no way Heiji was to blame for her death, I don't care what that stupid file says!"

"It would have been great if you hadn't tried to kill us all" Mitsuhiko said slowly, making sure to communicate how much he wanted her to suffer for that. It didn't go unnoticed, Hasegawa shuddered.

"I knew it'd be a waste of time to stay around, okay? That file, it was complete lie, it must have been! This place didn't have the answers I wanted. Why to stay?"

"But to the cost of all our lives?"

Hasegawa scrubbed her eyes. While her willpower in the moment of adding the hemlock to the tea had been steel strong, right now she regretted having done that. Having to admit her mindset was painful, especially because she knew everybody else surely was restraining themselves from retaliating against her. "You are a lot of murderers, blackmailers and unsavory people. The world wouldn't be much better if you all cured despair but gave yourselves positions of power. I couldn't just stand aside and let that happen!"

Mitsuhiko had never felt so disgusted in his life. "Wow. I really want to wring your neck right now, Hasegawa-san"

"I have been told that so many times since the day of the third trial" Hasegawa said, regretful "Besides the reason why we had brought you all here was useless by the time I decided to poison you all. With our leader dead, what could have we done? Lily, Sasuga-kun and I weren't enough to continue, this plan was doomed as soon as-"

"Wait a second" Now that was weird "Hasegawa-san, did you just say it was useless by that time...because your leader was dead?"

"I said that but...oh" Hasegawa covered her mouth in horror. She had done a very serious slip, a horribly revealing mistake.

"So the leader was already dead when you tried to poison everybody with hemlock. Sasuga-kun lied, Kishio-sensei wasn't the leader of you and him. It was another person, somebody who was dead"

"Hikari-kun, you are not thinking what you're thinking, right?!"

"So Yasumoto-san, Kayano-san, Takayama-kun or Hosoya-kun is the person behind our arrival here. It's one of those four" That made sense, right? The thing was how to find out which one was it? The four of them had been dead for quite some time, any evidence that could point to one of them was gone by now, and it was pretty doubtful Hasegawa would spill the beans. Lilith wasn't an option, either; she was unresponsive and had her own agenda.

All in all, it was very unlikely they would find something decisive that could give them a name.

"Does it even matter?" Hasegawa yelled "They are dead, and our plan is screwed by now. We don't need to delve further into the past"

"Fine. There's something I don't understand, though. What was the ultimate objective? Why did you and them collaborated together to bring us all here?"

"Hmmm..." For a moment it seemed Hasegawa wasn't going to reply, but she crossed her arms and spoke "You have...said before the Main Board are the masterminds, right? We did all this because there were good reasons to suspect there was something wrong with them. I can't tell you much, but I do can tell you that the reason you all were called here is because...

...

...because we wanted to save you all"

"Save us?" But how was that possible?

"I can't tell you how, exactly!" she shook her head "But that was what we wanted to do, we wanted to save you guys! We planned it all, Sasuga-kun created Lily to be an important piece of it all, and we all got ready for our roles. We didn't expect anybody to tattle us to the Main Board, though...or them to use a Monobear to create a mutual killing game" It was amazing how wrong the plan had gone.

"Did you seriously think you could do all this in the Headquarters and hope the Main Board or Veritas wouldn't notice?"

"Our intel informed us the Main Board were traveling to other parts of the world two weeks ago and would be away for quite some time. It was the perfect moment to do it! It-It was supposed to be perfect; I don't know why they returned so soon!"

It seemed that their plan actually had good bases. They had gathered information, managed to call everybody and all. That didn't excuse them for the fail that led to the deaths of so many commanders, though.

Hasegawa sighed. "That doesn't mean we didn't know they had returned. It's just that, after all this planning, we couldn't back down. This was something urgent we needed to do. Maybe...it would have been better we didn't try at all?"

In that moment Mitsuhiko could notice that right now she was filled with despair. She had cooperated in a plan that had led to them being trapped in a mutual killing game, and even though she had tried to poison them all and later kill them through a trial by getting Fukuyama as a successful culprit, she was no more than another person lost in the world.

She needed somebody to guide her to safety because she couldn't do it herself. All she had been involved in had failed. Mitsuhiko couldn't forgive her for the murder attempts, but he could at least sympathize with how lost she felt.

_Hasegawa and I spent time in silence, immerse in our thoughts_

-ooooo-

How long was Koshimizu going to take? Mitsuhiko was pacing back and forth in front of the door to the Basement. He could hear Koshimizu still trying to break down the door without success...yet. He hadn't given up, he had said there had been some progress. Soon the medic would manage to open it and they would find once and for all if there was some hope to set everything straight.

The rest of the surviving commanders were spread around the Headquarters, waiting patiently and getting ready to receive the news, whether they were good or bad. The hunter, impatient, felt like he couldn't stand and do nothing. Outside, it was twilight.

"Koshimizu-san, I'll be in my room" he screamed, the only reply being a grunt. Maybe he could attempt to get Lilith to answer to him, somehow, and if it was in private then even better. He needed some answers as to what was going on with her.

Thoughtful, he descended the stairs to the Lobby, watching the light of twilight filter through the wires on the windows. The lightning gave the place a very eerie feeling, fitting for all the tragedies and deaths that had happened. Now that he thought about it...it was fitting for everything the Delacroix school represented. Although he did know it had been founded in another country at first, it was no secret the branch in this city had been created to be an alternative for Hope's Peak, a competitor.

But despite that, Delacroix was not very different than Hope's Peak, was it? The facade of wanting to foster talent and help it bloom was no more than that, a facade. Hope's Peak had been created to study talent and manipulate it according to their wishes, for the good of mankind while neglecting the people here in the present. The Delacroix school, all over the world, was a way of scouting talents for the Delacroix criminal organization; to the point where they didn't even shy away from using their name as the school's name. How people even agreed to get their kids in a school like that was unknown.

This building was no more than the container of some very eerie moments and thoughts As a school, it led people to join a criminal organization. As the headquarters of the organization, it kept it all running orderly, spreading the crime in the city and further in Japan. And right now, it was a place where people were killing each other.

Mitsuhiko had never realized it, but this was not a place with good vibes at all. Something had changed in him that let him notice how ugly the truth was. But now, now they were all doing something constructive! It'd all be okay.

The hunter walked into the Monobear camp, going towards his room. His thoughts were interrupted when he saw something in the distance. The darkness of the hall, only interrupted by the sundown light filtering through the window, made everything seem much more confusing.

It was a person. A tall person, most likely male, was standing near the faraway wall, right to the side of the hall leading to the Cafeteria. Mitsuhiko couldn't see his face, hidden in the shadows, but he did recognize the suit and the cloak the person was wearing. They were that man's trademark clothes. "Veritas?"

The man didn't respond. Instead, he raised his right hand, something glistening on it. Mitsuhiko's blood ran cold when he recognized the object. It was some sort of pistol, and it was aiming directly towards him. "H-Hey, Veritas, what are you-?"

Instead of words, the man fired the gun. It seemed like the pistol had a silencer. Mitsuhiko, already wary, threw himself onto the floor as soon as he noticed the man's fingers moving to aim towards him. The bullet soared over him, and Mitsuhiko, without realizing when he had drawn his own Twin Beretta, aimed towards the man.

The man stepped forward, again aiming towards the hunter on the floor, but Mitsuhiko wasn't going to let himself be killed. Mitsuhiko fired one shot, hitting the man on their stomach. Blood started to flow, and although the man flinched, he recovered quickly, once again moving to hurt Mitsuhiko. "Stop! I tell you to stop!" Mitsuhiko shouted, standing up.

A bullet impacted against the floor just to the side of where Mitsuhiko had been lying. Now knowing telling him to stop was not going to work, the hunter decided more drastic measures would be needed. At least he was a hunter and a hitman, he knew what spots would cause pain yet wouldn't kill unless left unattended for long. If he did this correctly, he would disable the man for long enough to get help and save himself.

And so Mitsuhiko shot. Second, third, fourth bullet. All of them hit the man in the belly, more blood soaked the floor, yet somehow the man didn't stop moving. As if he felt no pain, he continued trying to move towards Mitsuhiko. _How can Veritas continue moving as if nothing was happening?!_ Mitsuhiko knew Veritas was an exceptional man, but he hadn't thought he had exceptional stamina and pain resistance as well.

Starting to panic, Mitsuhiko decided to fire his last two bullets. One hit the man on the shoulder, the other once again in the stomach. There was finally a reaction Mitsuhiko expected. The man groaned in intense pain, doubling over and grabbing his shoulder. Mitsuhiko, shocked, stopped and lowered the gun. There had been something in that scream, something that didn't fit at all with what he knew.

It hadn't sounded like a man at all, somehow.

Before Mitsuhiko could react, the person ran away towards the Cafeteria, grasping their shoulder. It took a moment for Mitsuhiko to get a move, following the person to the incinerated hallway. When Mitsuhiko went through the corner, he saw the door of the Cafeteria closing. There was more blood through the hallway, all over the ashes, and thankfully Yurie's body was gone, although the remains of the wheelchair continued being stuck in there. The hunter didn't pay much attention to that. He needed to stop the person, get help, some answers, something that could tell him what had just happened!

Surely the other commanders would get here soon; his own six shots had reverberated through the hallway. Somebody must have heard them. Knowing that at least help would come, Mitsuhiko ran towards the Cafeteria.

But before he could open them, there was a strange sound coming from the other side. It sounded like...something banging on metal. Caught off guard, Mitsuhiko stopped right in front of the doors, listening carefully and trying to assess the danger.

"Hikari-kun!"

Kobayashi had arrived, panting. He leaned on his knees, trying to gather his breath, and waved. "I heard shots. Are you okay? What happened?!" While Kobayashi talked the metalling banging moved from the inside of the Cafeteria to over their heads. Looking upwards, Mitsuhiko saw the ventilation shaft.

"Oh. Huh, it was Lilith" but there was no time to stand around and wonder stuff. The person had run inside the Cafeteria, he had to go in! "There's no time to explain" he said, pushing the doors open and running in.

He didn't have to look for long. The wounded person was near the door, lying face down. Blood seeped onto the tiles of the floor, it seemed like the person had been running towards a table. The cloak he had seen the person have was near the entrance, bloodied too. "Damn it!" Mitsuhiko approached as quick as he could, kneeled and turned the person around.

"What?! What's going on! Did you-" Kobayashi felt the words choke in his throat when he recognized the person after Mitsuhiko turned him around. "Veritas!"

It was unmistakable. The person lying on the floor was Veritas. The old man had several gunshot wounds in his stomach, and one in his shoulder. All the blood was fresh, pretty recent. But both Mitsuhiko and Kobayashi had a more urgent matter to focus in:

There was no pulse. The man in front of them was dead. Veritas was dead, recently killed, too. And if the gunshot wounds were any indication...

...Mitsuhiko had just murdered in self-defense the leader of Diavolos Avante.

Mitsuhiko's shoulders started to shake. He felt almost numb, like he hadn't fully processed what had happened. Kobayashi was behind him, covering his mouth with his hands, not saying anything. The hunter didn't hear the steps from the hall, only Kobayashi did. The illusionist turned around to greet the person who was coming. It was Koshimizu. When the commander saw Kobayashi, they hurried to approach him.

"There you are. I finally opened the door and took a look inside. The good news are th-" Koshimizu stopped talking when he noticed the scene and ran towards the body, trying to see if there was anything he could do to save Veritas. A minute later Romi, arrived. Although she was blind, she had enough experience to recognize what was going on.

"Who is dead?!"

"It's Veritas, he-" Kobayashi couldn't finish the sentence, as a very familiar announcement sounded through the speakers. Everybody in that place felt something heavy drop into their stomachs, knowing what that meant:

"A body has been discovered! After a short investigation there will be an extra trial to determine who the culprit for this murder is!" An extra trial. There was not going to be a trial to answer all the mysteries of the commander reunion, instead it was going to be about finding out who murdered the man right in front of them.

Mitsuhiko couldn't think straight. Had he...killed...the very person the six of them were looking for? Everything was pointing that he did, and how he was going to be on trial for that. He was going to be executed.

Veritas was dead and Mitsuhiko had never felt more scared in his life.


	35. Chapter 5: Long Live the King - Abnormal Days

Mitsuhiko could only stare at the body, feeling utterly hopeless. This wasn't the same as when Yurie had died, at that time even if he was wreaked with grief, all he wanted was to find out who had killed her. But now he was in trouble because he had been the one to murder! Even if it had been in self-defense, he had killed Veritas.

It may not have been as terrible if it weren't because the masterminds had called for a trial. A death had happened in the Headquarters, maybe there was some logic behind the sudden decision, but it was still unfair! Why should this happen to him, why now?

Hasegawa arrived while Mitsuhiko was still trying to process what was going on. She approached, looking around. "Oh! So Mimori-san is who is dead...damn it, I liked her" she muttered, approaching to look at the body.

"No, it's not Mimori-san. This is worse than that" Kobayashi said, wiping the tears off his eyes. He couldn't believe who had died. Hasegawa, intrigued, took a look at the corpse's face and frowned.

"I don't know who this man is"

"This is Veritas. He was the leader of our organization and the person the Main Board had kept as a hostage"

Hasegawa nodded grimly. "This is the person we all were trying to find. Damn it! The Main Board killed him!"

"Actually, I think there's something fishy going on here" Romi said "Did you all hear the announcement? Remember when it is done"

"Monobear says it when three innocent people find a body" Kobayashi informed everybody, in case it wasn't obvious for them all "But there were four people here when the body was found! Monobear was late with the announcement"

"Or maybe one of the four people who were here when the announcement sounded is the culprit" Romi walked to the entrance. "I was the fourth person to arrive"

"I was the third" Koshimizu said "When I got here Kobayashi-kun and Hikari-kun were already all over Veritas.

"I came here running because I heard gunshots, and I found Hikari-kun in front of the doors" Kobayashi explained, looking at the hunter in realization. He wasn't the only one, though. In no time, everybody was glaring at Mitsuhiko, who at this point tried to stand up.

"Wait, guys, this isn't, um-"

"I'd say Romi is completely innocent due to being the fourth person to arrive. I myself know I am innocent, and Kobayashi-kun can't have a gun. Mind telling us what happened, Hikari-kun?"

"Um-"

"I only got here because of the gunshots! If Veritas was shot to death then that means you killed him!" Kobayashi accused, still trying not to cry. Mitsuhiko knew he was trapped, everybody suspected him now. Well, everybody except Mimori, but once she heard about this she'd know he had killed him.

"Koshimizu-san has a gun too!" Mitsuhiko shouted and immediately regretted it. That was a very stupid argument, and doing arguments like those wouldn't help make himself look more innocent. The medic stared at him in disbelief.

"I was in the Basement. Mind telling me how I shot somebody who was in the Cafeteria?"

"Sorry, I lost my mind for a moment" Mitsuhiko's half-assed apology didn't seem to calm down anybody, as they all continued glaring at him. He was as good as caught.

"I think an investigation would be good. While it seems very, very likely Hikari-kun is the culprit, by now we should know a careful investigation is needed, even if it is to have all the evidence we need to condemn you"

"Yes, thank you!" The hunter was greatly relieved Koshimizu was reasonable enough to allow an investigation to happen. Even if chances of him being innocent were pretty low, he still held onto the small hope there was something weird going on, something that could somehow mean he had not murdered Veritas.

It was time to start.

**Body Discovery Announcement**

_Monobear_ _'_ _s announcement happens when three innocent people find a body. Mitsuhiko arrived first to the crime scene with Kobayashi, later came Koshimizu and finally Romi, the fourth one triggering the announcement._

"My, my! Look how fired up you made the old quack be, Hikari-kun" Monobear had appeared in the entrance, wielding a pile of his usual files. "You have a knack for pissing people of, don't you?"

"Oh, shut up and give that to us" Koshimizu tried to walk to take the files, but Monobear stepped back, waving his black hand around. For some reason, he had his white arm behind his back.

"Fine, here are the files! You are all lucky we managed to take back the Security Room too, or we wouldn't have seen the cause of death. Here are the results!" But instead of giving them, Monobear left the pile of files near the door. "Come and take it! I'd stay to play but I'm busy getting the executions ready" and he left, practically vanishing.

Mitsuhiko sighed warily and approached to take the files, to give one to everybody. "Here we go. With some luck this will be the first clue to show my innocence"

**Monobear File #5**

_Victim: Maximilian Delacroix, Codename: Veritas_

_Location of the Body: Cafeteria_

_Cause of Death: Severe internal trauma caused by five gunshots._

_There were six shots in total, five of them directly related to the cause of death. The remaining bullet impacted against the right shoulder. There_ _'_ _s also a large gash on the left side of the abdomen, although it_ _'_ _s not directly related to the crime._

Mitsuhiko cringed when he read how the bullets were confirmed to be the cause of death. It fit with what he did, including the number of wounds caused. Although he had aimed to specific parts of the abdomen so the person wouldn't die, it was possible the bullets had hit something else entirely...

...but five of them? Did they five bullets miss and hit somewhere else? Still, it was pretty clear the bullets caused the death. No matter what had happened, this meant he had killed Veritas. The hunter sighed and closed the file, trying to push away any thoughts of his future execution. However, before he could put away the file, he noticed something unusual _on_ the file.

It seemed to be smudged blood. The dark color of the file's cover had made Mitsuhiko almost not notice it, but now he couldn't stop seeing it. There it was, that definitely was blood! Mitsuhiko examined his own hands, but he didn't have any blood that could have rubbed onto the file, and while these objects had been left in the hallway, it wasn't left in contact with the blood.

**Blood on the Monobear File**

_A smudge of blood, almost unnoticed on the dark color of the file._

"Everybody step aside, please. I'm going to start the autopsy" Koshimizu announced, crouching aside the body and trying not to step on the blood soaking the tiles.

"Do you think there's a chance of Hikari-kun not being the culprit?" Romi inquired. Nobody was stepping away, mainly because there was no reason to. The crime scene was here in the Cafeteria and the hallway just outside, there was no need to explore the Headquarters to look for evidence. Everybody wanted to stick together, discuss the evidence they could find, and overall mourn their leader's death.

"I won't give my judgment for now, but this does look bad for him" Koshimizu carefully examined Veritas' abdomen, touching the edges of the bullet holes with his fingertips. It was clear he wished he had some gloves or something, but there was no time to bring stuff he could need. With such a delicate death, surely Monobear would watch closely what they did. If they took too long, they risked the investigation time ending.

"Is the file correct? Did the bullets, um..." Mitsuhiko couldn't bring himself to say the words, but Koshimizu nodded.

"I haven't examined the rest of the body in detail, but it does seem these are the cause of death. Listen up, everybody. Mimori-san, take notes, please"

"Um, Mimori-san hasn't arrived yet" Hasegawa informed, looking towards the hallway. Koshimizu frowned and shook his head.

"We can't stand around waiting for her. Does anybody have something to take notes with?"

"I have some blank sheets of paper, but I don't have a-" the false courier stopped, seeing something in a nearby table. It was one of Mimori's pens "Nevermind!"

"Alright, let's see..." Koshimizu put his fingers inside one of the holes "These...okay, the bullets are inside the holes. They are indeed deep enough to hurt the organs and cause bleeding; but I can't say with certainty the five wounds in the abdomen may be the cause of death"

"Really? You think the bear's file is wrong?"

"I'm not saying it's wrong, it's just that there's one wound here in the abdomen that may have greatly contributed to Veritas' death" Koshimizu showed the gash that was mentioned in the Monobear File. Indeed, that looked like a very nasty wound. Mitsuhiko recoiled.

"That looks like somebody took off chunks of his flesh with an ice cream scoop" That was a pretty fitting description. It wasn't very large, but it was still a very nasty wound.

"The culprit must have done that as a way to torture him, I suppose. There's no reason to have done such an ugly thing"

"The masterminds must have been watching from the cameras" Kobayashi said pointing at the one watching them in that moment "That's how they know the bullets killed him"

"But they locked themselves into the Monobear control room!"Romi reminded them, but Kobayashi didn't seem to consider that a problem.

"None of us has been paying much attention to what they are doing right now. Maybe they got out and took over everything after the Waiting Room"

**Gash**

_A ragged hole on Veritas_ _'_ _abdomen. It_ _'_ _s not the cause of death, but it_ _'_ _s thought to have caused a lot of bleeding._

"Alright, now, about the bullet holes. They still have the bullets inside, let me try to extract one" With clear disgust, Koshimizu managed to grasp one of the bullets, and pulled it out. Mitsuhiko felt something stir inside him; although it was squashed, he could still recognize it

That bullet was, without any doubt, fired from a Twin M9 Beretta. It took a couple minutes for Koshimizu to take out all the bullets from the holes, but soon he had six bloodied bullets in his hands. "Hikari-kun, take a look and be honest: what gun fired these bullets?"

To be sure of the legitimacy of what could be another decisive clue against him, Mitsuhiko took one. Indeed, despite the damage it had, it resembled the bullets of his gun. "...these are bullets from my gun. Twin M9 Beretta"

"Thought so. All bullets seem to be of the same type, so all six were fired by the same gun. Definitely not looking good, man"

**Bullets in the Body**

_The six bullets found in Veritas_ _'_ _body were fired by a Twin M9 Beretta, and all of them were in the holes._

"Anything else to note, Koshimizu-san?" Hasegawa had diligently written everything Koshimizu had said, ready to provide them as clues to anybody who asked.

"Hmmm...there's something, yes" Koshimizu bared the wound on the shoulder "Somehow this wound is different than the others. It's rougher, slightly bigger than the rest, and not as deep as the ones in the abdomen. The depth could be due to the bullet hitting the bones, though. Oh, and look at this" Koshimizu pointed to smaller wounds, positioned an inch from the wound. Circular wounds, as rough as the bullet wound nearby, but clearly not life-threatening "I can't explain these two holes, here. They were clearly made recently, but I don't know what they mean"

**Shoulder Bullet Wound**

_The wound on Veritas_ _'_ _right shoulder is shallower and rougher than the others. It also has two smaller wounds positioned nearby, the three of them forming a straight line._

"There doesn't seem to be anything else to take note of" Koshimizu wiped his hands on Veritas' suit, taking a moment to close the old man's eyes "We're done here"

"So, did Hikari-kun kill him?"

"...how do I say this...the bullets that killed him came from Hikari-kun's gun" that was a pretty neutral answer, but Koshimizu's tone sounded like an accusation. Mitsuhiko had to admit that definitely didn't sound good for him.

"We should check the nearby hallways. There could be a clue in there" Romi walked out of the Cafeteria with Kobayashi, Hasegawa following with her notes. Koshimizu stopped for a moment, sighing.

"Do you wish to check anything? If you're not guilty this is your chance to find something to clear your name"

"I'll take the chance" Mitsuhiko didn't see any reason to examine the wounds, Koshimizu had done a much better job than he would ever have done, so he focused more on the surrounding areas. It didn't take long for him to find something that didn't mesh very well with what he knew.

Both of Veritas' hands were spotless. Mitsuhiko didn't remember very well, but...no, he couldn't even say with certainty what he had seen. His memories of the moment Veritas was shot were muddled.

The hunter decided he should check the nearby cloak, and when he moved to check on it he did notice something that resonated in him. It was the soles of Veritas' shoes. They were spotless too, which was to be expected from walking inside a building, but Mitsuhiko had the feeling that was impossible. A quick glance to the hallway told him why. _The fire!_

The hallway had been burned just a few hours earlier, and although Yurie's corpse had been taken away, the hallway itself hadn't been cleaned yet. It was covered with soot and ashes, black powders coating every surface. Mitsuhiko peered at his own soles, finding them caked with soot.

For the first time since Veritas was found, Mitsuhiko felt the glimmer of hope in his heart grow. Maybe...maybe things weren't as straightforward as it had seemed once.

**Veritas** **'** **Shoes**

_The soles of Veritas_ _'_ _shoes are clean_

"Your face changed, Hikari-kun. Did you find something?" Koshimizu asked. Mitsuhiko, when turning around to look at him, was surprised to see the medic's expression. To the hunter it seemed...it seemed like Koshimizu wanted to believe Mitsuhiko was innocent, and hoped there were good news on that regard. To know he had the support of Koshimizu, or at least something similar to that, brought Mitsuhiko some relief.

"Maybe. I need to check a few things more, but I think this all may be more complicated than we thought" Mitsuhiko moved towards the cloak, lifting it from the floor and extending it. It was surprisingly bloody on one side. _This is very strange. The cloak should only be bloody here on the shoulder area, not in the rest._ He remembered Veritas wore that cloak clasped in front of his chest, the fabric extending over his shoulders and down his back. It was not logical to see it so bloody. At least it did have a hole in the area where the bullet in the shoulder would have gone through.

**Cloak**

_Veritas_ _'_ _cloak, usually draped as a cape over his shoulders and back. It has a large amount of blood on one side, and what may be a bullet hole in the right shoulder area._

"I think I'm done here" Mitsuhiko said, leaving the cloak back onto the floor. He didn't feel like carrying it around everywhere, all he needed to do was memorize those details that could be useful. Koshimizu, knowing there was nothing else to be done in the Cafeteria, left the place. Mitsuhiko almost followed him but before he exited he remember something. _What was that banging noise from earlier? It was Lilth, wasn_ _'_ _t it?_ He looked upwards, seeing the ventilation shaft.

It was just like the one he had almost been forcibly dragged into. Not many people would fit in one of those, there was even a risk they would get stuck...unless they were of thin complexion. Koshimizu and Hasegawa didn't fit the bill at all. Koshimizu was stocky while Hasegawa had a healthy pudginess. The thought of them trying to crawl in the ventilation shaft was laughable.

Kobayashi and Mimori, on the other hand...Kobayashi was pretty thin and seemed to be nimble, he could do it. And Mimori was lithe and mousey, she was another option.

Mitsuhiko usually wouldn't have given much of a thought if it weren't because of the banging sounds...and because the grill covering a section of the shaft was wide open. A square of blackness stared at him. _Could it be somebody who wasn_ _'_ _t Lily crawled through there?_ There was one big problem, though:

The ventilation shaft was very high in the ceiling, several meters above his head. Jumping wouldn't even get close to it, and nothing in the Cafeteria was close to it. It was practically impossible to reach it. Had his recent train of thought been for naught?

**Ventilation Shaft**

_A metallic passageway in the Cafeteria, high in the ceiling. The grate is open. It_ _'_ _s not possible to reach the ventilation shaft._

Now that did settle it. It was time to leave the Cafeteria and examine the hallway where he and Veritas had supposedly gotten into a duel. As soon as Mitsuhiko exited the Cafeteria, he found something that supported his earlier theory about Veritas' shoes.

On the floor there were several footprints, all of them obviously made with the ashes of the arson from a few hours ago. Anybody who had crossed there would have their soles dirty, then why were Veritas' shoes clean?

**Soot Footprints**

_A collection of footprints, made by the commanders when entering or leaving the Cafeteria. It_ _'_ _s not possible to identify who left what prints. Other than the footprints, there are no other tracks._

Mitsuhiko now walked back to the place where the duel had taken place. Hasegawa was there, staring at the blood spilled on the floor and the walls. "I didn't know that man, Veritas. My objective all this time was to get to the Main Board, somehow, or help those two rebels to protect you all. Veritas was never part of anything in my mind"

"Does it really matter now? He's dead and we have to investigate his death"

"...you are right. So, you may be the killer, from what I have seen around. Any thoughts about that?"

"I think there's a chance I'm not the killer" Mitsuhiko said with conviction "I can't say it with complete certainty because I don't have all the pieces, but there's something very strange going on!"

"Really? Okay, I'll tell you have I have found" Hasegawa pointed at the wall "There isn't much evidence in this hallway, I just found two things. First, here"

Mitsuhiko approached the point of the wall Hasegawa was pointing too. Indeed, there was something that could end being a useful clue, very useful! Embedded into the wall, there was something that could only be a bullet. Mitsuhiko tried to take it out with his fingers, but it didn't work. "Step aside, let me try" Hasegawa took out the whittler knife she had taken to protect herself, and inserted the blade between the bullet and the brick material.

It took a couple minutes, but she managed to pull out the crushed bullet. She held it to Mitsuhiko. "Here, see what can be found from that"

"Thank you" Mitsuhiko spun the bullet around his fingers. He could recognize it, it was a bullet from a Twin M9 Beretta, crushed due to hitting the wall. But the most interesting characteristic the bullet had was that the bullet was covered in blood. Intrigued, he looked at the wall. It was completely clean in the section Hasegawa had found the bullet in, so it wasn't like it could have gotten stained from splatter. _This is very convenient. I_ _'_ _m starting to see this situation clearer, but how do I tell everyone else._

**Bullet in the Wall**

_A crushed bullet from a Twin M9 Beretta, found in the hallway to the Cafeteria. Covered in blood. The part of the wall it was found in has no blood at all and it was too deep to receive splatter._

"Right, that is one. You said there are two pieces of evidence, where is the other one?" Mitsuhiko asked.

"It's here, on the floor. It's another bullet, so you know what to do" Hasegawa had crouched to the side of another hole in a tile, already at work at extracting the bullet. When Mitsuhiko got there, she made it pop out and tossed it to the hunter. "Enjoy"

Mitsuhiko caught it easily and brought it close to his eyes. Crushed, that much was expected. There was no blood, that made sense too, after all it hadn't even grazed him. Now that he thought about it...no bullet the person fired had come close to hurting him. Sure, it had been aimed at him, but maybe he hadn't been in danger at all.

Or maybe that person had terrible aim.

Shaking his head, Mitsuhiko took out the bloody bullet Hasegawa had retrieved from the wall and compared it to the one from the floor. Due to the damage both bullets had received, Mitsuhiko couldn't say it with certainty, but from what he could see the bullets were different. The caliber at least indicated the bullet from the floor certainly hadn't come from the same type of any gun Mitsuhiko owned.

**Bullet in the Floor**

_A bullet, fired towards Mitsuhiko during the encounter in the hallway. The caliber indicates no gun Mitsuhiko owns could have fired it._

"So that is all there is to see here" Hasegawa leaned on the wall, watching Mitsuhiko intently "What happened? Why is there all this blood here?"

"...I shot somebody" Mitsuhiko admitted "Six bullets in total, five on the abdomen and one on the shoulder. That is all I can say, because that is all I know"

"Can't you even confirm it was Veritas?"

"I can't! This person had clothes similar to him, but I can't say it was Veritas"

"But the possibility still exists. There's a possibility you shot Veritas dead"

"That's correct, I suppose" Mitsuhiko shrugged "We'll see at the trial, right now I don't have all the pieces of this puzzle"

"I'm sure you don't trust me at all, Hikari-kun, but if you need help with anything I'd be glad to help you. I'm more of a neutral party, after all. Veritas is nothing more than a stranger to me. If there's anyone who can have an impartial view of this all, it's me"

Hasegawa was right about that. The rest of the commanders may be furious and despairing about Veritas' death, and for that reason they may not be thinking clearly. Hasegawa's help could be valuable in the trial as a neutral party, a voice of reason in middle of everybody's biased grief. Mitsuhiko smiled, grateful. "That'd be great. Thank you, Hasegawa-san"

"I'll go search for Mimori-san, I haven't seen her at all. Good luck, Hikari-kun" and with that, she walked away towards the Lobby. Mitsuhiko sighed and gave a last look around; trying to see any clue the false courier could have missed. She was right; there were no more useful clues in the hallway. The encounter had been quite fast and left almost no evidence. There's nothing left to do here he decided and turned around to go to the Basement. That seemed like a good place to go now; after all, Veritas had been kept there for a long while.

But before he left, he saw something that didn't fit with the hallway. All the doors to the classrooms were closed with only one exception: the one closest to the corner leading to the Cafeteria, that door was ajar. It didn't take long for Mitsuhiko to grow concerned, that was the door to Yurie's bedroom. Frowning, he opened the door and entered.

He immediately knew this room was very important for the mystery. Near the door there was a large puddle of blood, still fresh. Mitsuhiko approached and crouched to a side, dipping his finger in the puddle, confirming it had been spilled very recently. It was impossible this was Yurie's blood, that much was sure. _Why is there blood in this classroom? It doesn_ _'_ _t make any sense for this to be here_ Mitsuhiko thought. His first thought was that the person he had shot had come out of this bedroom, that was a possible explanation, but that didn't explain to who this blood belonged to.

**Blood in Yurie** **'** **s Classroom**

_A large amount of blood, found on the floor of Yurie Oyama_ _'_ _s room. Fresh and recently spilled._

Other than the blood, it seemed there was nothing else worthwhile in the room. Still, that was more than enough to throw a wrench into any train of thought Mitsuhiko had until then. The freshness of the blood proved this was in some way important to the recent developments, but he couldn't see yet exactly how.

Thoughtful, he decided to go back to the original plan of going to be Basement. He walked to the Lobby, avoiding the blood on the floor of the hallway, and arrived to Camp Lily. And speaking of Lilith, shortly before arriving to the stairs to the Basement he found a reminder of the potential danger she represented.

More of those wires were moving on the floor, trying to grasp anybody who walked nearby. Mitsuhiko carefully stepped over them, making sure Lilith didn't find out about his presence. Now that he thought about it, Lilith's weird behavior was still present in his mind, and the bandages on his wrists and hands proved to be a reminder that would last for a while. Still feeling the sting of his wounds, Mitsuhiko grimaced at the wires. Experimentally, he took one of the heavy torches of the stone statues and threw it on the wires, watching them coil around the stone object and pulling it towards the ventilation grate. After a few blows, Lilith managed to break the grate and the torch disappeared in the inside of the ventilation shaft, taken to some unknown place for some unknown purpose, the stone sounding against the metal. The thought of that potentially happening to him made Mitsuhiko shudder and walk quicker to the Basement stairs.

**Lilith** **'** **s Wires**

_Lilith has hung wires from ventilation shafts all over the Headquarters. When something or somebody gets on its grasp, it gets pulled and dragged into the ventilation system of the building._

But now that he thought about it...just what was Lilith's involvement in this whole mess? What was she trying to do, exactly?

"Hello?" Mitsuhiko called from the top of the stairs towards the darkness of the Basement. He turned on the light and descended, walking directly towards the door Koshimizu had been trying to break open. Indeed, the medic had done quite a good job.

It was open towards the inside of the room, revealing the inside of the room. It smelled real bad in there, and Mitsuhiko doubted about turning on the light. The investigation wouldn't progress unless he did it, though. It was a necessary evil. Taking a deep breath of the musty air somewhere else in the Basement, the hunter finally dared to turn on the light.

There was no dead body anywhere, no blood, or anything that could indicate anybody had received bodily harm in here. It was a cramped room, the only feature were some pipes crossing the tiny space. Underneath those pipes, Mitsuhiko could see the ground, crusted and dirty. Above that area, on the pipe, there was an object that made it obvious what had once been there.

There were shackles on the pipe, one clamped around the pipe, the other hanging freely. Mitsuhiko immediately guessed this was where Veritas was once kept, shackled to that pipe. He could imagine it now, him lying miserably on the ground, waiting for his captors to do something.

**Shackles**

_A pair of shackles used to restrain Veritas to a pipe in a room in the Basement._

Other than the shackles, the only other object in the room was a tray. Mitsuhiko recognized it from a set he had once seen in the kitchen, and the dishes were of similar design as well. There were pieces of toast and sausages on it. Raising his eyebrows, Mitsuhiko picked up the plate and examined the food.

There weren't any signs of mold. It was already cold, but it seemed to be relatively fresh. Wishing fervently what he was going to do now wasn't going to bite him in the ass at a later point; he bit a small part of the toast. It...definitely was recent. This food can't have been there for more than a few hours.

Satisfied, Mitsuhiko spit the toast and left the tray back where he had found it. Surely Koshimizu had already seen what was in here. If he had left the food here, then he should do the same. Feeling glad to leave that tiny room, Mitsuhiko closed the door and took a moment to gather his thoughts.

He was feeling strangely light-headed, most likely due to the air of the Basement and the crash from the adrenaline from the encounter in the hallway. His stomach felt queasy, though, so soon he had a new theory. "Moron, why did you eat food you found in a place like this..." Mitsuhiko murmured, leaning on the wall.

It took quite a while for him to feel with enough strength to think. During the time he felt sick he really wanted to lie down and sleep. He still blamed the food he had found. Bitterly regretting what he did, Mitsuhiko sat on the floor.

**Tampered Food**

_A tray of food found in the room where Veritas was once shackled in. Fresh, can_ _'_ _t have been there for more than a few hours. It is not confirmed, but it is suspected the food contains some sort of weakening drug._

He rested for a while more, taking deep breaths until he felt ready to continue. There was one place more he wanted to see before the trial, and since it had been a long while since the body was found, Monobear would finish the investigation time soon. He wasn't sure how it would relate to the murder, and chances are that it wouldn't, but there was something nagging in his head that made him want to check.

Mitsuhiko stood up and slowly walked to the bloody room. There had been no changes since the last time he had been there, other than the blood being a bit drier. There was no doubt, though: blood had been spilled at different moments, at least two: one several days ago, one recently. It would be easier to differentiate if the light was brighter, but the dim light bulb on the ceiling didn't help to distinguish the possible color tones. Still, Mitsuhiko was sure about that assesment.

**Bloody Room in the Basement**

_A room in the basement. Its floor and walls are splattered in blood from at least two different occasions: one from no more than a few hours, the rest from at some point earlier, possibly days ago._

But still, his target wasn't this room. It was the one directly after it, the one with the dirt floor. Mitsuhiko crossed over the blood and arrived to that place, finding a shovel in a corner of the room. There was definitely something buried here, and he wanted to see what it was. He pushed the shovel into the dirt, and started digging.

He had barely started when the investigation end announcement happened. "Ahem. It has been more than enough tie, bastards! Everybody go to the Meeting Room, it's time for a claaaaaass triaaaaaaal!" That was much more melodramatic than how Monobear usually sounded. He had run out of time, but maybe, just maybe, he could get a glimpse of what was here. He pushed the shovel again, achieving progress shortly after that.

He wished he hadn't. The object he uncovered...was a hand. A deadly pale hand, splattered with blood. Mitsuhiko gasped, dropping the shovel in shock, and crouched to check something. Yes, the hand was connected to an arm, and if it kept going that way...then there was a whole body down here. He managed to uncover enough of the arm to find a long sleeve from a kimono he recognized. "Kimiko?!"

He had no doubt that was Sugita's kimono, or at least its sleeve. The flesh of the hand and arm was completely intact, not like he expected it to see after such a shock from her execution. Suddenly, the epiphany hit him hard. Of course! He should have supposed it a long time ago.

Mitsuhiko, feeling proud of himself and appalled at the same time, ran out of the room and towards the Meeting Room, shaking the remains of dirt from his hands.

**Buried Body**

_A corpse, possibly Sugita_ _'_ _s corpse, is buried in a room of the Basement. It doesn_ _'_ _t match the expected state of the body after her execution._

Mitsuhiko arrived to the front of the Meeting Room, breathing heavily. Monobear and other commanders were already waiting there, all of them showing signs of impatience. "About time you showed your ugly mug here, Hellmutt!"

"Hellmutt? What the-" Mitsuhiko scoffed and left the strange nickname aside. He looked at the people gathered; finding out Mimori wasn't among them. "So Mimori-san hasn't arrived yet?"

"I couldn't find her anywhere" Hasegawa informed "Where could she have gone?"

"Monobear can't seem to find her, either. If you ask me, I think that's a sign she is...perhaps...in a place she should be in" Koshimizu scratched his chin "Like in the Fourth Floor with the masterminds, for example?"

"I already told you she is not up here!" Monobear protested eliciting a scoff from Koshimizu.

"Right. I expected that answer already, but now what? Are we going to wait for Mimori-san for as long as we need?"

"Hell no. We won't stand here until the end of time. We're going to start the trial now, and as soon as I find out where she is, I'm going to kill her!" he yelled, stomping from side to side of the hallway. Mitsuhiko had never seen Monobear so pissed off, whatever Mimori was doing it was going to lead to her death. But was it possible for her to vanish like that, to some place neither Hasegawa, who had apparently walked through the Headquarters and all the floors, and the masterminds, with the cameras and security system?

The only possibility Mitsuhiko could think was the ventilation system, and that's what he said to everybody. Everybody looked at the section that went through the hallway, doubtful. "It's true she's small enough to fit, but why would she hide in there?" Kobayashi asked.

"To make the bear angry?"

"As soon as she gets out from wherever she is hidden she's going to get her head tore off" Hasegawa glanced at Monobear, who seemed about to enter the ventilation system himself to seek for Mimori.

Another voice sounded, most likely another person in the room where Monobear was controlled from, spoke: "Whatever! I'll make the other Monobear unit explore the ventilation system. If she's in there I'm going to-"

"Mimori isn't in here" a voice resonated from the inside of the ventilation shaft. The commanders, feeling dread all of a sudden, looked behind the grate on the ceiling. They could see a head with red hair, one they all knew very well.

"Lilith?" Hasegawa narrowed her eyes. It did seem like it was Lilith. She ignored Hasegawa and said:

"Mimori isn't in the ventilation system. I can guarantee it"

"The brat has spoken! Now I can rest easy on my throne with a pot of hunny and scratch my fluffy ass with abandon, sure, why not?!" Monobear fumed, trying to climb the walls to get to the ventilation system. Kobayashi, sighing, slowly approached the struggling bear and grabbed him, holding him as far as possible. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"W-W-We need to get the trial undergoing. Let's deal with Mimori-san later" he said mutedly, dropping the bear when it unsheathed its claws "We're not getting anywhere with this, um, this..." his voice trailed off, but somehow that got Monobear to calm down. Without saying a word, he sat on his throne, motioning everybody else to sit in their chairs. Everybody obeyed without objections, ready to start the trial.

There were a couple details Mitsuhiko felt could be useful, though. He thought about them for a moment, ready to bring them up if it fit the trial in any way:

**Twin Beretta M6**

_Mitsuhiko_ _'_ _s secondary gun. Received from Hasegawa in the very first meeting in the Headquarters. It_ _'_ _s part from a set._

**Silencer**

_The gun the other person used to shoot at Mitsuhiko made almost no noise when shooting. It_ _'_ _s believed it had a silencer._

In Mitsuhiko's opinion, this was the easiest case to solve. He was sure he had already found out what had happened, who was the culprit, how everything related to the murder was connected. The problem was to get the culprit to confess...if that even happened. Knowing the culprit, they would deny it unless there was completely undeniable evidence of their guilt.

And that was impossible. Mitsuhiko lacked _the_ decisive evidence. He knew what it was, where it may be, and why it was there, but it was impossible for him to retrieve it.

Since making the culprit confess may not be an option, the only way to get everything go like he wanted was to convince everybody else. That wouldn't be too difficult...if he managed to prove beyond any rational doubt he was not the culprit. Fortunately, that was easy, too! It wouldn't take long.

_The truth is simple, and I_ _'_ _m ready to reveal it. They won_ _'_ _t like all of it, but it isn_ _'_ _t like I can keep silent about this._

_I_ _'_ _ll reveal the truth behind Veritas_ _'_ _death. There_ _'_ _s no doubt I will!_


	36. Chapter 5: Long Live the King - Trial I

"Before we start, let's remember how these trials are supposed to go. The victim wasn't a commander but who cares, he died and one of you six-minus-one bastards murdered him! As always, find out who did it and that person will be executed. Let's begin with-"

"We don't really need to discuss for long. We have a suspect and a lot of evidence that say he's guilty" Koshimizu said "Hikari-kun, you were allowed to investigate because if there's anyone who can prove you're not guilty, it's you. Did you find anything?"

"I did. I can prove I didn't kill him"

"Really? And do you know who the real culprit is?" Romi asked.

"I do"

"But we can't trust you! You could be the culprit, trying to save yourself. First prove you didn't kill him!" Kobayashi demanded, and Mitsuhiko had to admit he did have a point. Until he made clear he was not the murderer there was no reason for any of them to believe what he was going to say.

"Let's start. What do we know about the murder?" Koshimizu was the one to start the discussion, trying to find out what was the general opinion about how Veritas had died. From that the hunter could destroy all misconceptions and lead to the truth if he hadn't done it. The medic was sure that, if Mitsuhiko was guilty, then between all of them they would be able to get through his lies.

"I couldn't see anything, for obvious reasons, but from what I have heard around it seems Hikari-kun and Veritas met in the hallway"

"They shot each other"

"But Hikari-kun doesn't have any wounds. Veritas was shot, he ran to the Cafeteria-"

"And he collapsed there. I arrived shortly after that when I was looking for everybody. Kobayashi-kun and Hikari-kun were already there, in my opinion, the murderer must be one of those two"

"Why me?!" Kobayashi exclaimed.

"Because of the body discovery announcement" Koshimizu pointed at him "Three innocent people discover the corpse, that's the requirement. I couldn't have done it because I was in the Basement, and Romi-san can't have done it because she was the fourth. It was either you or him!"

"That seems to be all we know. Was anything useful, Hikari-kun?" Romi didn't contribute much, mainly because she couldn't investigate. The hunter hummed, analyzing everything that was said and forming an attack plan. This could be good!

"I can work with that. Let's go from the beginning, okay? Start with the confrontation"

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Monobear File #5 / Tampered Food / Silencer / Bullet on the Floor / Shackles_

* * *

KOSHIMIZU: The duel happened in the hallway

KOSHIMIZU: Who started it doesn't matter, though

ROMI: Hikari-kun has two guns; he could be carrying one easily!

KOSHIMIZU: **He had the Beretta**. I saw him take it.

KOSHIMIZU: They tried to shoot each other. How many times did you fire, Hikari-kun?"

MITSUHIKO: **Six times.**

HASEGAWA: That's **the same number of bullets** on that guy's corpse.

KOBAYASHI: I heard the bullets came from **Hikari-kun** **'** **s gun**

KOBAYASHI: The noise is what brought me to the hallway

ROMI: You mean **_Hikari-kun_** ** _'_** ** _s gunshots_**?

ROMI: Or **_Veritas_** ** _'_** ** _gunshots_**?

KOSHIMIZU: That may be important, but it is impossible...

KOSHIMIZU: ...to distinguish which gun made what noise.

* * *

"I don't know why that is important, but I do can answer which gun made the noise" Mitsuhiko said "It came from _my_ gun. That person's gun had a silencer on it, it didn't make much noise"

"Oh! I see" Kobayashi said "I was on the Second Floor Lounge when I heard the gunshots, six in total, and I ran downstairs. That's when I found Hikari-kun in front of the Cafeteria"

"Were you on the Lounge the whole time?" Romi inquired.

"Um, a-after I talked to Hikari-kun I went to the Lounge and stayed there until the gunshots"

"If you had mentioned there had been six gunshots we wouldn't have needed to wonder anything" Mitsuhiko grumbled "That person only fired twice"

"Twice? I found a single bullet" Hasegawa intervened.

"Yes, twice. It must have gotten lost somewhere"

"Okay! Veritas' gun had a silencer. Does that change anything?" Romi asked and nobody was able to give her a satisfying answer to that question. It seemed they had argued something that didn't really lead anywhere meaningful "He shot him six times, the body has six bullets, what else do we need to know?"

"Be patient, Romi-san, we need to take this all calmly. Let's continue, okay? What else do you guys think happened?"

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

Blood on the File / Bullet on the Floor / Silencer / Blood in Yurie's Room / Veritas' Shoes

* * *

HASEGAWA: The body was found in **the Cafeteria**

HASEGAWA: **Veritas must have run** in there!

KOSHIMIZU: There was a strange lack of blood on the floor, though

KOSHIMIZU: I would have thought six wounds would make him bleed more.

HASEGAWA: **_His cloak_** was coated in blood, it may have absorbed it

HASEGAWA: Veritas entered the Cafeteria and collapsed

HASEGAWA: He wasn't able to do **anything else** , right?

KOBAYASHI: I found the body with Hikari-kun, there was no tie for him to hide evidence.

KOBAYASHI: Nobody could have gotten through the hallway, either.

KOSHIMIZU: This isn't looking good for you, Hikari-kun

* * *

"Yes! This is where I start proving my innocence" Mitsuhiko grinned, excited. This wasn't bound to be very difficult "Hasegawa-san, I can guarantee Veritas didn't run into the Cafeteria"

"Is it because he was too weak to run?" Romi inquired, but that wasn't the point Mitsuhiko was trying to make.

"No, the person I shot did have enough strength to run, but what I'm trying to say is that Veritas can't have done it. We all know what happened in the hallway around twelve hours ago, it was on fire. The hallway hasn't been cleaned up yet"

"We all saw that, what is your point?"

"Did you all notice you all left footprints when you walked into the Cafeteria? I bet the soles of all your shoes are covered in soot. I'm happy to inform all of you that Veritas' shoes had absolutely no soot at all"

"It's true, all of us must have left footprints" Hasegawa touched the sole of her shoes. "So are you saying that..."

"Yes, Veritas can't have stepped onto the hallway. I doubt anyone would have cleaned his shoes, right?"

There was silence for a moment while the commanders tried to understand the implications of this. "...Veritas never went through that hallway. The only way that is possible is if...if he was inside the Cafeteria or the Kitchen from before the fire happened" Romi said, trying to make order of what was going on.

"That is impossible; m-many of us would have seen him!" Kobayashi refuted.

"I know it's impossible, but what other option is there? It isn't like he could have gone onto the Cafeteria through some other way. I suggest we leave this conundrum aside for a moment"

"There's one last thing I'd like to discuss about Hikari-kun's guilt" the illusionist requested, straightening up on his seat "I suspect him because it's impossible anyone else could have done it, I'll tell you how!"

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Lilith_ _'_ _s Wires / Blood on the File / Bullets in the Body / Monobear File #5 / Bullet on the Floor_

* * *

KOBAYASHI: I ran as fast as I could when I heard the gunshots

KOBAYASHI: When I arrived Hikari-kun was in front of the Cafeteria

KOBAYASHI: I never saw anybody else!

KOBAYASHI: And I'm sure the windows weren't opened at all

KOBAYASHI: There's **no other escape route** , either

ROMI: Maybe that culprit **_never exited the Cafeteria_**

ROMI: They could have **gone into the Kitchen**

KOBAYASHI: There's the **ventilation system** but...

KOBAYASHI: It's too high to reach.

KOBAYASHI: And with the a-announcement that settles it!

KOBAYASHI: Hikari-kun is the only person who could have done it!

* * *

"I wouldn't leave aside the ventilation system so quickly, Kobayashi-kun, because that is how the culprit escaped" Mitsuhiko crossed his arms "It's true it's too high to reach, but with help it can happen"

"With help? Help from who?"

"Help from Lilith. Have any of you noticed the wires that have been hanging from the grates and shafts around the building? That is Lilith"

"But she's just a little robot girl! Do you think she would be capable of lifting anybody?" Romi raised her eyes towards the steel passage over their heads, where Lily was still listening from "I insist the Kitchen may have been where somebody could have been hidden in"

"No. We all would have noticed if somebody had gone to the Kitchen. If anybody had gone there, we would have found _this_ in the Cafeteria"

* * *

Monobear File #5

Blood on the File

Body Discovery Announcement

Bullets in the Body

Bullet Wounds

Gash

Cloak

Veritas' Shoes

Ventilation Shaft

Soot Footprints

Bullet on the Wall

Bullet on the Floor

Blood in Yurie's Room

Lilith's Wires

Shackles

Tampered Food

Bloody Room in the Basement

Buried Body

Twin M9 Beretta

Silencer

* * *

**Soot Footprints**

* * *

"If anybody had gone to the Kitchen we would have seen their footprints on the floor of the Cafeteria. There was no time to clean anything, either"

"Okay, I suppose, but can you really imagine a little girl lifting somebody up there?" Hasegawa asked.

"...I don't think she is a little robot girl anymore, but that's not the point. She'd be capable of dragging anybody into the ventilation system, and that's how a person could have escaped the Cafeteria"

"But you can't be sure she'd be capable of that!"

"I can, because it almost happened to me" Mitsuhiko showed the bandages on his wrists "IT wasn't a pleasant experience, either. Those wires she uses can cut through your skin with ease"

"So Lilith is an accomplice!" Hasegawa stood up, raising her voice towards the grate "You! Get down here and explain it!"

"Um, I didn't say she was an accomplice"

"Then why would she do that? Why would she help the culprit escape?"

"...I didn't say that either..." it was a bit difficult to explain, but before he could, the grate opened and _something_ descended from it. It was Lilith, but Mitsuhiko had been right. That wasn't a little girl anymore. It resembled more a large spider completely made of wires and steel. The only thing left was the head, which descended upside down. The wires grasped the steel tunnel on the ceiling; Mitsuhiko could see it was being dented. "What the hell...Lily, what happened to you...?"

"Last Bastion code. It's nothing you need to be concerned about. What is it?" her voice sounded different, too. There was no trace left of the Lily they had known until now.

"Did you help the culprit?" Romi demanded to know, glaring at the gray bundle she could barely see. Lilith's face didn't react although she somehow managed to do a dismissive gesture with her wires.

"I did no such thing. I'm leaving now. There's nothing else to talk" without letting anyone ask her anything else, she retracted back onto the ventilation system. Everybody could hear her slithering away through the innards of the walls, leaving them stunned. That was a horrible change, and not knowing what was Lilith's new agenda made Mitsuhiko greatly uncomfortable. What could happen now?

"She's an accomplice! She helped-"

"No, no, you're getting this wrong" Mitsuhiko interrupted before that wrong idea could go any further "Lilith didn't cooperate with the culprit and had nothing to do with the plan. In fact, I'm sure the culprit nor anybody involved could have expected Lilith getting in the way"

"...I don't get it, did she help or not?"

"She didn't!"

"Okay, that's enough" Kobayashi interrupted before Romi could say anything else "I admit somebody can have escaped through the ventilation system, fine. Who would fit in there?"

"Only two people would: you and Mimori-san" Hasegawa said "To be honest I suspect Mimori-san more. She isn't here, she may have gotten away"

"We can't accuse Mimori-san of being the culprit yet, let's do something first: solve the problem about Veritas not being able to run to the Cafeteria"

"That's not difficult to do. If we solve that, I can prove decisively I didn't kill him" Mitsuhiko said, mulling an idea. He had more or less a plan for how to lead everybody to the culprit, but Kobayashi had shown to be much more stubborn than he had expected "Who wants to start that?"

"I will, I suppose" Koshimizu said.

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Body Discovery Announcement / Lilith_ _'_ _s Wires / Silencer / Veritas_ _'_ _Shoes / Shackles_

* * *

KOSHIMIZU: The lack of soot on his shoes is the biggest problem here

KOSHIMIZU: Couldn't there have been **_some sort of vehicle?_**

HASEGAWA: There were only footprints

HASEGAWA: **Tracks would exist** if anything else had been used

ROMI: But how do you explain Veritas' body being in the Cafeteria?

KOSHIMIZU: It may have been **_carried_**

HASEGAWA: Maybe it was **_in the Cafeteria the whole time._**

KOSHIMIZU: That'd require some sort of trick

KOSHIMIZU: Like one of them being **a fake**

KOSHIMIZU: Would it be **the body we found**?

KOSHIMIZU: Or would it be **the person Hikari-kun shot**?

* * *

"...the person I shot wasn't Veritas. It's as simple as that" Mitsuhiko declared. That was the most obvious solution, and the one he was completely sure was the correct one. It explained all inconsistencies and let him be innocent, so what else could it be?

"That makes sense! If Veritas' body was left in the Cafeteria by the culprit, and the culprit fought with Hikari-kun, that'd explain why the body didn't have any soot on its shoes" Hasegawa supported "Then the culprit escaped through the ventilation system, meeting with Hikari-kun after that!"

"Yeah, that is what I mean. That's why I'm saying I'm innocent, because whoever I shot can't have been Veritas"

"No" Kobayashi stood up, hitting the table. His face was contorted in a look of disbelief at everybody, as if nothing had gone like he thought it would go "I can't believe you all are going to accept that. He shot somebody six times! If it hadn't been Veritas we would have another dad body in our hands!"

"That's true, but we would have found it already, right?"

"We already found it! Do you all think six bullet wounds are something one can survive for long? A second corpse would have been found already, even if it was taken away by Lilith. There can be only one dead person right now!"

"And how do you explain the lack of soot on Veritas' shoes? You're practically saying he went to the Cafeteria by himself" Mitsuhiko stood up too to glare at the illusionist, but his opponent had gotten brave during the last few minutes. He maintained eye contact without fear.

"T-That will be explained later. Everything is always explained at some point! You shot six times, Veritas has six wounds. I can't be the only one who thinks the simplest explanation is the correct one, am I?!"

It seemed that Kobayashi's denial of the progress so far was rooted on the belief the simple explanations were more likely to be true than the convoluted story they had all concocted. _All I should need to do is prove to him the person I shot can_ _'_ _t have been Veritas. No big deal._

* * *

**Panic Talk Battle**

* * *

KOBAYASHI: Why does it have to be so difficult?

KOBAYASHI: Six bullets, six shots

KOBAYASHI: It's so simple!

KOBAYASHI: Are you even listening?!

KOBAYASHI: If not you, then who?

KOBAYASHI: I'm the illusionist, not you.

KOBAYASHI: You can't lie to me!

KOBAYASHI: It doesn't make sense

KOBAYASHI: I don't get it

KOBAYASHI: There's nobody else dead in this building

* * *

**The six wounds and six bullets prove it. You shot Veritas!**

* * *

Bullet in the Wall

* * *

"Yeah, that won't fly. It's true there are six bullets in Veritas' body and that's exactly what makes me innocent. Hasegawa-san, remember the bloody bullet you extracted from the wall?"

"Of course. I gave it to you"

Mitsuhiko took out the bullet from his pocket and rolled it on the table so everybody could take it and examine it. "This was found in the wall of the hallway. It's covered in blood and deformed, but I have no doubts this bullet came from the gun"

"B-But how is that related to Veritas? I don't get it" Kobayashi was looking from the bullet to Mitsuhiko, back and forth.

"I think this bullet went through the person I shot's shoulder and embedded itself in the wall" Mitsuhiko explained but Kobayashi still didn't seem to understand what that meant. To his right, Koshimizu gasped, his eyebrows rising almost to his scalp.

"We found six bullets in the body. If this one went through his shoulder, then I shouldn't have extracted the one we found in his shoulder"

" Exactly! How is that possible? The only way is if the person I shot and Veritas were different people!" There! That should demonstrate there was no way Mitsuhiko had killed Veritas-

**WAIT, THERE** **'** **S SOMETHING WRONG HERE**

Mitsuhiko sighed wearily when Kobayashi shouted that at the top of his lungs. "What now, Amy?"

"If there are six bullets in his body then where did they come from?" Kobayashi asked, that was what he had a problem with now.

"It could be a new bullet, does it really matter?"

"No, he does have a point there too" Koshimizu mulled "It wasn't a new bullet, I'm almost sure it was shot as well"

"Huh" That was something Mitsuhiko hadn't considered. It was undeniable a sixth bullet had been found in Veritas' shoulder, and it couldn't just have been shot against a wall or anything like that. The damage to the bullet would have been very different to the rest of the bullets, it wouldn't have fooled anybody. Where did that sixth bullet come from?

"Are you sure about that, Koshimizu-san?" Romi asked. The medic seemed to be pretty sure that sixth bullet had been indeed shot against something. Maybe...that was the key to finding out where it came from. That'd explain that clue, now that I think of it. That could work.

"Okay, Amy, I know the answer...I think"

"Then tell me! I'm all ears" Kobayashi said, ready to clash his argument against Mitsuhiko's. The victory or failure to succeed against it would define if Mitsuhiko was innocent or not, so it all relied on that.

* * *

**Rebuttal Showdown**

* * *

_Bullets in the Body / Monobear File #5 / Cloak / Gash / Bloody Room in the Basement_

* * *

KOBAYASHI: The number of bullets in the body...

KOBAYASHI: ...fit the number of times Hikari-kun shot

KOBAYASHI: And it has already been defined that sixth bullet really was used

KOBAYASHI: It can't have been against a wall

KOBAYASHI: Or else we would all have known it already

KOBAYASHI: The only possibility left is obvious

KOBAYASHI: That bullet hit something made of flesh and bone

KOBAYASHI: And that something is Veritas!

MITSUHIKO: Just because the bullet hit Veritas' body

MITSUHIKO: It doesn't mean I was the cause of it

KOBAYASHI: All those bullets came **from a gun like yours**!

KOBAYASHI: That's decisive evidence.

KOBAYASHI: There's **no place to obtain the bullet** from...

KOBAYASHI: ...other than from **his shoulder**

KOBAYASHI: The bullet's state confirms it

KOBAYASHI: As long as this problem exists...

KOBAYASHI: ...you can't be considered innocent!

* * *

"I admit you are right. The sixth bullet came from Veritas' body. Yes, it was found in his shoulder but what I mean is that one single bullet was moved into that wound"

"I-I don't know I'm f-following..." Kobayashi stammered.

"Veritas was shot six times, yes, but all those six times...were on his abdomen. The culprit had to make a wound on the shoulder, and for that reason they extracted a bullet from the body and put it in his shoulder!"

Kobayashi frowned. "What are you talking about? How can that be possible?"

"Koshimizu-san, you found that gash in Veritas' body, didn't you?"

"I did, but I'm not sure..." Koshimizu raised his eyebrows "Oh. I see. I see what you're trying to say"

"I think I do too" Hasegawa said "Hikari-kun, you are saying Veritas that gash was made when the culprit extracted the bullet from a wound, right?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying" It was good to see they understood what his point was.

"But why was such an ugly wound made? Couldn't the culprit just use their fingers or a knife to extract the bullet?"

"They couldn't do that. They had to use what they had, and that's why such a gash was done"

"Why did the culprit have to put a bullet in the corpse's shoulder?" Romi inquired "Was that really necessary?"

"It was very necessary. The culprit made that wound and put a bullet inside to..."

* * *

_To change the cause of death_

_To defile the body_

_To make it match the duel in the hallway_

_To hide evidence_

* * *

**_To make it match the duel in the hallway_ **

* * *

"...to make it match the wounds the person I shot would have. If we had examined the body and we had found out all wounds were on the stomach, then I would have known immediately something was wrong. And it would all have worked if it weren't because of one of my bullets passing through that person's shoulder"

"So it was all a charade to make us think you had shot Veritas" Hasegawa said "Well, to make us and _you_ think you had done it"

"Wait, wait, there must be something wrong! For that to happen then Veritas must have been dead for a good while already. Not only that, but the culprit had to plan to frame Hikari-kun since the beginning, otherwise he wouldn't have been shot to death!" Romi mused.

"Veritas must have been dead for a while, I bet" Kobayashi had finally accepted the possibility of Mitsuhiko being completely innocent and had decided to join the rest's discussion "W-We were all led to think he was in the Basement but he was actually dead and stored somewhere"

"The body wasn't cold in any way, it can't have been in a freezer" Koshimizu pointed.

"The blood seemed pretty fresh to me" Hasegawa also added, but Kobayashi had a counter to that.

"Aren't there blood transfusion bags in the Infirmary? If the culprit had taken a few and poured them on the body, we would have thought he had bled recently"

"That's not a bad theory, but Veritas can't have died too long ago" Mitsuhiko said. Kobayashi, once again having his arguments attacked by the hunter, scowled in frustration.

"Can't I get a- a-anything right in this trial or what?!"

_It_ _'_ _s obviously the first time you_ _'_ _re trying to make an effort and it_ _'_ _s pitiful_ Mitsuhiko thought, but any pity he could feel was gone when Kobayashi's efforts were stubbornly focused on getting him convicted for Veritas' death. "You can't, too bad. Veritas was alive just a few hours ago, this proves it"

* * *

Monobear File #5

Blood on the File

Body Discovery Announcement

Bullets in the Body

Bullet Wounds

Gash

Cloak

Veritas' Shoes

Ventilation Shaft

Soot Footprints

Bullet on the Wall

Bullet on the Floor

Blood in Yurie's Room

Lilith's Wires

Shackles

Tampered Food

Bloody Room in the Basement

Buried Body

Twin M9 Beretta

Silencer

* * *

**Tampered Food**

* * *

"In the room where Veritas was kept shackled, I found a plate with food. Seemed like breakfast to me, and it was still relatively fresh and edible. If Veritas had died some time ago, I'm sure I wouldn't have found the food there"

"That has logic to me" Romi nodded "When Hikari-kun shot the false Veritas the real one must have been dead already! The culprit was trying to make Hikari-kun shot them. How did they survive?"

"...hm. I don't think I ever saw a bulletproof vest or anything like that in this building" Koshimizu said.

"I once heard Veritas used to hear a bulletproof vest all the time. The culprit must have taken it from him"

"But what about the blood? I shot and that person really bled" Mitsuhiko noted, but Kobayashi had something to say about that too, and for once nobody had a counter to it.

"Again, blood transfusion bags. The culprit was trying to make Hikari-kun think he killed the man, without blood he wouldn't believe it. Those bags would be useful"

"That makes sense to me, somehow" Hasegawa nodded, the illusionist nodded with enthusiasm at finally getting something right here.

"Right, now we need to find out who the real culprit is" Romi said "I'd say discussing the place of death would be important here. Let's start with that now" _The place where Veritas died? That_ _'_ _s easy. If only it did lead to the culprit..._

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Gash / Blood in Yurie_ _'_ _s Room / Body Discovery Announcement / Cloak / Lilith_ _'_ _s Wires_

* * *

ROMI: Where did Veritas get killed?

HASEGAWA: **_In the Cafeteria_** , obviously

HASEGAWA: That's where the body was found

KOSHIMIZU: I wouldn't say that with so much confidence

KOSHIMIZU: But I do think it was **_near the Cafeteria_**

KOSHIMIZU: All we know right now is that **it wasn** **'** **t in the Hallway**

KOBAYASHI: There was this **_bloody room in the Basement_**

KOBAYASHI: It may have been there

ROMI: I'm more partial to **_the Kitchen_**

ROMI: It is close to the Cafeteria

HASEGAWA: There's a chance it happened...

HASEGAWA: ... ** _in a place nobody investigated_**

KOSHIMIZU: That'd be very bad for us.

ROMI: Somebody must have seen something!

* * *

"I think I found the crime scene" Mitsuhiko said slowly. That got everyone's attention, all of them waited for Mitsuhiko to say what he meant. "Koshimizu-san is right, it must have been near the Cafeteria. I found a lot of blood in Yurie's room"

"Was it fresh?" the medic inquired.

"Yes, I think that's where Veritas was killed"

"The culprit must have used the gun with silencer Hikari-kun had mentioned, so nobody heard a thing" Kobayashi said. "And once he was dead...he was carried to the Cafeteria?"

"He wasn't dragged, that much is obvious!" Hasegawa took off her cap, thoughtful "Why was there not enough blood in the hallway?"

"I think the culprit carried Veritas' corpse, and to avoid any blood spilling on them or the floor they used this:"

* * *

Monobear File #5

Blood on the File

Body Discovery Announcement

Bullets in the Body

Bullet Wounds

Gash

Cloak

Veritas' Shoes

Ventilation Shaft

Soot Footprints

Bullet on the Wall

Bullet on the Floor

Blood in Yurie's Room

Lilith's Wires

Shackles

Tampered Food

Bloody Room in the Basement

Buried Body

Twin M9 Beretta

Silencer

* * *

**Cloak**

* * *

"Veritas' cloak was near the body, and one of its sides had a lot of blood. Maybe the body was wrapped with the cloak and carried to the Cafeteria"

"Did the person you saw have the cloak on?" Hasegawa asked.

"Yes"

"That's gross!"

"But it's a valuable clue: the culprit is strong enough to carry Veritas" Romi stated "I think he would weigh quite a bit. Mimori-san and Kobayashi-kun wouldn't be able to carry him, I think, and you can't expect me to lift him"

"That'd leave Koshimizu-san and Hasegawa-san as our suspects" Kobayashi completed, looking at the two new suspects "One of these two must have pretended to be Veritas so they would get shot, and then ran into the Cafeteria"

"And how do you suggest we got out of the Cafeteria? We don't fit in the ventilation system"

"Maybe through the window. I think nobody checked them! The w-w-window would be the only way you could have escaped"

_At least I_ _'_ _m not a suspect, but if I don_ _'_ _t set everything straight they_ _'_ _ll make some serious mistakes here. Damn it, Amy! And why isn_ _'_ _t anybody else protesting?!_

_Don_ _'_ _t they get the person I fought with can_ _'_ _t have been the culprit? It was no more than an accomplice, what_ _'_ _s wrong with them?!_


	37. Chapter 5: Long Live the King - Trial II

"Seems like you have a theory. How about you stay silent and don't embarrass yourself any further?" Koshimizu said, condescension dripping in his voice. Kobayashi flinched, but the incentive of helping to catch the killer made him continue forward. He hadn't helped very much since the first trial; this was his chance to actually pull his weight around.

"R-right...I think you or Hasegawa-san carried the body to the Cafeteria, donned clothes like his, and tried to shoot Hikari-kun"

"Why would we do that?" Hasegawa inquired, although she didn't seem very worried about the accusation. After the way Kobayashi tried to pursuit Mitsuhiko as a culprit, it was to be expected nobody else would be too worried about what the illusionist thought.

"What, the duel? You did it because...you wanted Hikari-kun to believe you had done it. That was already discussed!"

"It's true we said that already" Romi rubbed her eyes "But I don't really think Hasegawa-san or Koshimizu-san is the culprit here. What do you say, Hikari-kun?"

"I say this is all a waste of time. You all are missing something very important. Take a look at this piece of evidence and you'll have the identity of the person I encountered"

* * *

Monobear File #5

Blood on the File

Body Discovery Announcement

Bullets in the Body

Bullet Wounds

Gash

Cloak

Veritas' Shoes

Ventilation Shaft

Soot Footprints

Bullet on the Wall

Bullet on the Floor

Blood in Yurie's Room

Lilith's Wires

Shackles

Tampered Food

Bloody Room in the Basement

Buried Body

Twin M9 Beretta

Silencer

* * *

**Bullet on the Wall**

* * *

Mitsuhiko once again threw the crushed bullet from the wall on the table. This didn't amuse it at all, he expected much more from the other commanders. If they couldn't find out this by themselves then it was a wonder they all had managed to take part of the trials until now. "Do you all remember where this came from?"

"That's the bloody bullet I found in the wall" Hasegawa nodded "The bullet from the shoulde-" her eyes widened, noticing the huge oversight they all had done "...oh"

"What? What's...ah. Aaaagh!" Kobayashi was the second to realize it, and it seemed he was more horrified than the rest. He was the one pushing for an argument, after all.

"I think I'm missing something that should be here" Koshimizu put his hand over his right shoulder "Don't you think so...Kobayashi-kun?"

"Yeah, y-y-yeah, um, I see it now. I...oh, fuck it" he sank in his seat, blushing. That was it, no more trying to create new arguments.

"Whoever has a hole in the shoulder is the culprit. That's it!" Romi stretched the neck of her vest, showing most of her right shoulder area "It's not me"

"You were the person who triggered the dead body announcement, it wasn't you" Hasegawa said "Hikari-kun, Kobayashi-kun and Koshimizu-san are our suspects here. Hikari-kun already proved it wasn't him, so..."

"Again, I have no wound" Koshimizu repeated but this time proved it. Indeed, there was no trace of wound.

"I-I'm experienced in getting shot, but I think everyone would know if it had happened again" Kobayashi winced "I'm no good with pain. Koshimizu-san knows that"

"My ears ringed for hours after I was done with your whining" the medic scowled "If he had been shot again we'd definitely know it"

"Just in case, it isn't me either!" Hasegawa unbuttoned her shirt and showed her shoulder "See?"

"But...the announcement...one of you three is supposed to be the culprit. What's going on here?" Romi looked at Monobear accusingly; who pretended to not to notice "Did you lie to us, bear?"

"Nope!" he replied "I'm an honest bear, promise!"

"It's simple" Hasegawa said "The culprit and the person Hikari-kun encountered are two different people"

"An accomplice? Are you saying two different people were involved in a plan to kill Veritas?" a vein popped on Koshimizu's forehead. To him, the thought of two commanders cooperating to kill Veritas was the biggest crime anyone could have committed in the Headquarters.

"That's how it seems to me. And since the possibility of there being two different people involved, you three continue being the main suspects"

"But who was the accomplice?" Kobayashi inquired "If none of us have a bullet wound, then...wouldn't the only possibility be..."

"Yes" Mitsuhiko nodded. This was something he had suspected since the investigation, everything he had found and knew pointed at that person being the accomplice he had shot. Everything was explained with that "The accomplice can only be one person"

* * *

Mitsuhiko Hikari

Shizuka Hasegawa

Mamoru Takayama

Akira Hosoya

Kimiko Sugita

Harumi Kayano

Tetsurou Koshimizu

Chiyo Yasumoto

Sumida Kishio

Kouhei Kobayashi

Daisuke Mitsuishi

Kumakichi Fukuyama

Hiyoko Romi

Kyrie Mimori

Yurie Oyama

Tohya Sasuga

Lilith

Monobear

* * *

**Kyrie Mimori**

* * *

"Everyone in this room has already shown to not to have a bullet wound. The only conclusion we can reach from this is that the wounded person is not in this room. The only commander who could be that is...Mimori-san"

"Mimori-san? Are you sure?"

"Yes! The bullet wound and the escape route shows she's the most likely to be that person. Sure, she's not as tall as Veritas, but I'm sure she and the culprit thought of something to disguise that"

"But that is...she isn't the only one who isn't here. What about the masterminds? Couldn't one of them have tried to kill you?"

Mitsuhiko considered that for a moment. To be honest he hadn't thought of that possibility, but he had a hard time believing one of the masterminds would put themselves in risk like that. "...I don't think so..."

"Of course. Why would a mastermind be the culprit's accomplice? That doesn't make sense" Hasegawa said. That wasn't what Mitsuhiko was thinking, but for now that was good enough.

**I SEE IT CLEARLY NOW**

"Guys, maybe we're letting ourselves be misled" Romi interrupted the current discussion, leaning forward in her seat. Her new line of discussion was related in a way to the discussion about the accomplice, but it was meant to be a way to solve it once and for all. "There's something I think you are all forgetting:

The only witness to the whole accomplice thing is Hikari-kun. If he's the culprit he can have lied about this and everything else"

"...Romi-san has kind of a point there" Koshimizu nodded "Do you have any decisive proof of your duel?"

"Yes, do you, Hikari-kun?"

_Do I? I need to think back, there must be something that could work. I know what I saw, but that won_ _'_ _t be good enough. I need something that could prove it...and that everyone else can see. There must be something like that!_

* * *

**Rebuttal Showdown**

* * *

Bullet on the Floor / Twin M9 Beretta / Veritas' Shoes / Bullet Wounds / Bullet on the Wall

* * *

ROMI: Your testimony makes sense...

ROMI: But since it was only yours...

ROMI: ...we can't automatically trust it

ROMI: Kobayashi-kun arrived too late to see anything

ROMI: If there's no physical proof...

ROMI: ...then we'll have to doubt what you say

MITSUHIKO: What kind of physical proof are you looking for?

ROMI: It's obvious, isn't it?

ROMI: We want proof there was a shooting...

ROMI: ...between two people

ROMI: Otherwise, we'll have to think...

ROMI: **There was no imposter**

ROMI: And that there was **no shooting** either

ROMI: It all relies on that, so come on!

ROMI: Got something?

* * *

"I can prove there was somebody else shooting, somebody that isn't me" Mitsuhiko took out the second bullet from his pocket "Hasegawa-san found this bullet too. It's undeniable evidence there was somebody shooting at me"

"Where did you find this bullet?" Koshimizu took it to examine it.

"It was embedded into the floor" Hasegawa explained "Hikari-kun explained it isn't from his gun, so it must have been from the imposter"

"But can we trust that?" Romi inquired.

"I think we can. Hikari-kun doesn't have other guns. There are guns in the arsenal in the Fourth Floor but only the masterminds can enter, so it isn't like he can go there"

"He could if he's involved in something with the masterminds" Kobayashi pointed.

"No, Hikari-kun isn't an accomplice...I think. He hasn't cooperated with them at all" Koshimizu returned the bullet to Hikari-kun "This is good enough proof to me, so let's take his testimony as true, shall we?"

"Then...Mimori-san is an accomplice and either Koshimizu-san or Kobayashi-kun is the culprit" Hasegawa leaned backwards on her chair "What do you think, guys?"

"I think Koshimizu-san is more likely to be the culprit. There's something pointing to him" Romi announced. While Koshimizu shook his head in disbelief, he at least didn't immediately dismiss her proposal.

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Soot Footprints / Bullets in the Body / Blood in Yurie_ _'_ _s Room / Ventilation Shaft / Veritas_ _'_ _Shoes_

* * *

ROMI: The culprit isn't Mimori-san

ROMI: But she had to obtain the gun from somewhere

ROMI: Hikari-kun gave Koshimizu-san a gun

ROMI: I think that's the **same gun Mimori-san used**!

KOSHIMIZU: I have the gun right here.

KOBAYASHI: Mimori-san may have given it to you...

KOBAYASHI: ...at some point **_before the trial_**.

KOSHIMIZU: Without anyone noticing?

KOSHIMIZU: I doubt it.

* * *

"No, the gun Mimori-san used is different. The bullets found in the corpse shows the culprit used a gun similar to mine, and the bullet in the floor doesn't match to any of those bullets"

"How did the culprit get a gun like yours?" Romi inquired. Hasegawa grinned, knowing the answer to that.

"It must have come from the armory in the Fourth Floor. I don't know if I'm right but I'm sure there was a Twin Beretta M6 up there"

"So the culprit at some point took that gun?"

"That seems like the logical conclusion here" Koshimizu nodded "No, I didn't take it"

"How are we going to guess which one shot Veritas? It can have happened at any time" Hasegawa said.

"I was in the basement. Hikari-kun can confirm it"

"You can have killed Veritas and left him in the Cafeteria before returning to the Basement" Romi argued "That doesn't make you innocent"

"Guys, guys, you're overthinking this" Mitsuhiko said with a notable dose of condescension. Everyone was getting into a wrong path, and the hunter was the only one who could see it. In a way he couldn't blame them. The clues pointing at the real culprit were subtle if they didn't know what to look for. Mitsuhiko himself had gotten to the truth due to a piece of evidence only he had.

There had been enough padding already. Surely the culprit had gotten complacent, feeling nobody would catch them. And now that Mitsuhiko had proven there was no way he could be the culprit, everyone would trust what he was going to say.

"What? You know who the culprit is?" Kobayashi asked with a dose of admiration. Of course Mitsuhiko did, he had solved four cases already.

"Yes. The amount of proof pointing at them is minimal, though, so you may have to trust me on this, okay?"

"It'll be easier to trust you if you at least show us some of that evidence" Koshimizu said. That seemed smart enough.

"Right, I can do that. Okay, the big evidence I have that shows who the culprit is can be found on the corpse: I'm talking about the large gash on the body, the one that was left when the culprit had to extract a bullet to put on the shoulder"

"You had said the culprit left that ugly wound because they had no more choice" Romi remembered "You know what was used for that?"

"Listen, to know what made that wound, first we need to think something: what that gash was made for. If it was made to extract the bullet and put it on the shoulder wound, it tells us something very important about that area of Veritas' body, something that will prove to be vital proof against the culprit..."

* * *

_The shoulder wound was made around that time_

_Veritas was shot after the gash was made_

_Veritas was alive when the gash was made_

_Veritas wasn_ _'_ _t in the Cafeteria when the gash was made_

* * *

**_The shoulder wound was made around that time_ **

* * *

"...it proves the shoulder wound must have been done around the same time the bullet was extracted"

"Why do you think that?" Kobayashi inquired.

"There's a reason why the culprit put in a bullet in the shoulder: because I shot Mimori-san there. If the culprit had left the body like that, then I would have immediately known there was something wrong going on. I wouldn't have thought for a moment I had killed him"

"Wait, wait a second here! What about the shoulder wound proves who the culprit is?"

"It's not just one thing, it's actually two. The first element that proves who the culprit is..."

* * *

_The bullet inside the wound_

_The location of the wound_

_The goriness of the wound_

_The shape of the wound_

* * *

**_The shape of the wound_ **

* * *

"...is the shape of the wound. Keep in mind the culprit had to make something that could pass for a bullet wound. It had to be of a certain shape, or else nobody would believe Veritas had been shot there"

"That is true. Now that I think about it, the wound had something strange" Koshimizu closed his eyes "There were these two smaller round wounds nearby, shallow and aligned with the bullet wound"

"And that is exactly one of the biggest mistakes the culprit made. I'll tell you this: the culprit had to use the same tool they used to extract it. That tool is what made those strange wounds on Veritas' shoulder"

"And what tool was that?" Kobayashi asked, intrigued to hear the end of this line of reasoning.

"I'll go into that for a moment. First, there's something else that wound tells us. Think about this:"

* * *

_Why it was made_

_When it was made_

_How it was made_

_Where it was made_

* * *

**_When it was made_ **

* * *

"Think when the shoulder wound was made. As I said, the culprit had to do it to imitate Mimori-san's state. You know what that means?"

"It means the culprit had to do it shortly after Mimori-san was shot! The culprit was in the Cafeteria while Mimori-san was being shot"

"The culprit had to move real fast, too. Hikari-kun didn't take that long to get to the Cafeteria. What bothers me is that I don't know how the culprit ran away from the Cafeteria so soon" Hasegawa pointed.

"Right. I'll tell you through where the culprit ran away"

* * *

_To the hallway_

_To the ventilation shaft_

_To the Kitchen_

_To the window_

* * *

**_To the Kitchen_ **

* * *

"I'm fairly sure the culprit had to escape through the kitchen. It can't have been through the hallway, for obvious reasons. The ventilation shaft is too high, and the window, well, it can't have been that. It's just that the Kitchen was the easiest escape route the culprit had"

"But there's no way out through the Kitchen" Romi said.

"That is right. The culprit stayed in the Kitchen until the body was found, and once that happened, the culprit took advantage of the confusion and sneaked out to the Hallway. None of us saw them because we were too focused on the body. Once the culprit got to the hallway, they got our attention, that is how it happened"

"...attracted our attention? Wait, none of us really did that. What did the culprit do?"

"One last thing: in the hallway there were only footprints from shoes. The culprit can't have come from the Hallway at that time, as the culprit has a very distinctive _something_ about their feet. I would have seen their prints on the hallway, but they weren't there. Think of all that"

The confusion was understandable, but to Mitsuhiko it was clear. All they had to do was think of a few things: who would be able to sneak around the Cafeteria, whose feet would leave distinctive prints, who couldn't have been in the Cafeteria while Mimori was being shot, and what tool the culprit used. If one considered all those things, more and more commanders were eliminated.

And once everyone who couldn't have done it was eliminated, there was only one person who fit all that.

"The one who was in the Cafeteria and mangled Veritas' shoulder was..."

* * *

Mitsuhiko Hikari

Shizuka Hasegawa

Mamoru Takayama

Akira Hosoya

Kimiko Sugita

Harumi Kayano

Tetsurou Koshimizu

Chiyo Yasumoto

Sumida Kishio

Kouhei Kobayashi

Daisuke Mitsuishi

Kumakichi Fukuyama

Hiyoko Romi

Kyrie Mimori

Yurie Oyama

Tohya Sasuga

Lilith

Monobear

* * *

**Monobear**

* * *

"...it was Monobear. That gash and that wound were made with something we all have seen several times already: Monobear's claws. That also explains why the gash happened, it was impossible for the bear to extract the bullet any other way.

And we all know what that means, right?" Mitsuhiko turned his head around to glare at the bear. Monobear didn't say anything, evaluating what Mitsuhiko was saying "The masterminds are the culprits here.

Veritas was killed by the masterminds and Mimori-san was their accomplice in framing me"


	38. Chapter 5: Long Live the King - Trial III

"No way..." Koshimizu said, dangerously calm. Mitsuhiko was rather sure that, if Monobear hadn't been the one accused, Koshimizu would have jumped from his seat to strangle the culprit. Too bad the bear's claws and nimbleness made it impossible to punish him physically.

Besides, attacking the bear wasn't the same than attacking the masterminds.

"The masterminds killed him? But how can that be? I thought they were all locked in the Fourth Floor" Hasegawa said, looking at the bear in confusion.

"She is right! You can't think these cute little paws grabbed a gun and shot somebody" Monobear waved them and tried to pick up random stuff, quite clearly failing on purpose "Damn paws lacking in the thumb department!"

"Of course the bear wasn't used to kill Veritas. One of the masteminds themselves had to do it" Mitsuhiko frowned, not quite in the mood for the bear to clown around, especially when there was a reason for the masterminds to be nervous.

"And which one of us did it?" Monobear tilted his head "If you're going to accuse us then you'll need a name. You can't blame everything on the bear and think it's enough"

Had that been a confession? To Mitsuhiko it had sounded like one, in a way. "How do you expect us to know?!" Kobayashi protested but Monobear didn't care about that problem in the slightest.

"Ask Hikari-kun, he is the one who says one of us did it"

"Are you completely sure Monobear was the one to mangle the body?" Romi inquired to Mitsuhiko. The hunter nodded without hesitation, there was no other answer to the murder.

"Upupupu...but that is impossible! Look at these paws; do you see any blood on them? I'm a clean bear" Monobear showed both hands, and indeed, there was no trace of blood in any of them. None of the commanders was impressed, though.

"There are several Monobears around the building, if it wasn't this one then it was another" Koshimizu argued.

"Come on, bastards! Let's get this done over with. It's time for me to join your trial" Monobear's eye glowed "Hikari-kun! There are many holes in your argument. I will destroy everything you have!"

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

Lilith's Wires / Silencer / Bullet on the Wall / Body Discovery Announcement / Blood on the File

* * *

MONOBEAR: I was in the Kitchen when you entered?

MONOBEAR: Gyahaha! What nonsense!

MONOBEAR: I **wouldn** **'** **t be able to see anything**...

MONOBEAR: ...if I had been **in the Cafeteria**

KOBAYASHI: You must have some way to see...

KOBAYASHI: ...even if **it isn** **'** **t near the shooting scene**?

MONOBEAR: **Nope!**

KOSHIMIZU: Monobear **can** **'** **t have crossed through the soot**.

MONOBEAR: I'm made of felt!

MONOBEAR: The soot is going to stick to me

MONOBEAR: I'll also point **I move through the ventilation system**

MONOBEAR: But there's a certain pest in there right now.

MONOBEAR: Lilith wouldn't let me be in there

MONOBEAR: Being anywhere other than the Hallway...

MONOBEAR: ...would mean I didn't mutilate Veritas!

* * *

"So, your argument is that because you can't have seen what happened to Mimori-san you can't have mutilated the corpse" Mitsuhiko summarized "Did I get it right?"

"Say whaaat? Is your brain made of sawdust and dust? It can't be so hard to understand" Monobear quite obviously was trying to avoid the issue now. Maybe, after four trials, the masterminds understood that when Mitsuhiko focused on the arguments it was almost sure he'd manage to find a way to break them.

"...shut up. Guys, the masterminds had a way to keep tabs on Mimori-san and on the duel, all that without even having to move Monobear. They could have left the bear in the Cafeteria yet they would still see everything easily"

"The masterminds can't have left the Fourth Floor" Romi reasoned "They have a control panel for Monobear there in the Fourth Floor but it sounds to me you have something else in mind"

"Yes. There's a room in the Fourth Floor that'd allow them to know what was going on. I'm talking about...

* * *

_...the Security Room_

_...the Armoury_

_...the Monobear control panel._

_...the Waiting Room_

* * *

**_...the Security Room_ **

* * *

"...I'm talking about the Security Room. It's very close to the control room. It isn't too hard to suppose one of the masterminds kept an eye on the cameras while another controlled Monobear"

"Yeah! There are three masterminds, that's more than enough" Kobayashi smiled, that made perfect sense! Monobear grunted loudly but kept his composure.

"Fine! I have access to the cameras but that doesn't mean anything"

"I have a question" Hasegawa raised her hand, seemingly having thought about something for quite a while "Why would the masterminds force a trial if they killed Veritas? It would be a chance for us to catch them, that wouldn't make sense"

"If they hadn't done a trial we all would have suspected of them anyway" Koshimizu said "Even with Mimori-san helping them if there hadn't been a trial we wouldn't have believed anybody else did it.

"But why did Mimori-san accept to help them?"

"...she must be an accomplice to them too, but I don't mean only to this murder" Romi shook her head "Mimori-san must have been helping them all this time"

"Since the beginning?!" Mitsuhiko snarled. That was...actually possible, but he wanted to believe Mimori had been brought into the masterminds' puppet strings recently.

"Mimori-san and Fukuyama-kun were partners, then" Koshimizu thought for a moment "Let's think for a moment, some weird stuff Fukuyama-kun or Mimori-san did should give us some answers"

"The Chemistry Laboratory. That's the core of everything accomplice-related. Any answer for that yet?" Kobayashi asked but nobody in the room could give him an answer to that. That damned laboratory continued being out of reach for all of them in terms of how everything related to the accomplices actually happened.

"Forget that"

"Now that I think of it, when Mitsuishi-kun died Mimori-san had said she hadn't seen anything because Monobear had distracted her" Kobayashi said.

"I had always thought it was a bit weird Fukuyama-kun managed to do anything without Mimori-san noticing. If Mimori-san being the masterminds' accomplice along wuth Fukuyama-kun is true that'd explain why all that could happen" Hasegawa closed her eyes "We were all played for chumps"

"Why was Mimori-san an accomplice too? What'd be her motive?"

"We can't know, but this should mean Mimori-san is with the masterminds right now" Koshimizu pointed upwards "She must be in the Fourth Floor"

"I have already told you all she isn't up here!" Monobear shouted. Practically all the commanders scoffed at that.

"As if we're going to believe that" Romi sneered, but Mitsuhiko shrugged with doubt. While he didn't believe the masterminds had no idea of Mimori's location, he did at least believe she wasn't up there.

"I t-think we're deviating from the topic" Kobayashi said "Why did the masterminds try to frame Hikari-kun?"

"Maybe for convenience? They had a gun like Hikari-kun's, why not to use it because that way they could frame him"

"There'd be other ways to frame him" Hasegawa said but before she could continue a growl erupted from the end of the table. Monobear had banged the table with his paws, growling as menacingly as he could.

"Frame this, gun that, what's wrong with you all?! All that is something any of you could have done. There's nothing I –we- could have done to frame him. Who says Mimori-san didn't do all that?"

"Are you now going to try to blame everything on Mimori-san?" Romi inquired, narrowing her eyes in contempt.

"Exactly! She must have done everything. Forget the bullet and shoulder triviality, I can't have framed anyone" he declared. It was by now obvious the masterminds were quite high-strung for some unknown reason, getting angry and all. Had that always been like that? Was that the true personality Enoshima had, if she was really up there? He didn't know how she really was.

Or...was something going on, something Mitsuhiko didn't fully understand yet? All he knew was that something abnormal was going on with the masterminds, something beyond the whole 'being a person that's already dead'.

What the heck was wrong with the Main Board?

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Blood in Yurie_ _'_ _s Room / Body Discovery Announcement / Silencer / Ventilation Shaft / Bullet on the Wall_

* * *

MONOBEAR: **Every piece of evidence** against Hikari-kun...

MONOBEAR: ...is something Mimori-san could do.

KOSHIMIZU: Being the accomplice would give her...

KOSHIMIZU: ...access to stuff the rest of us couldn't have.

ROMI: Such as **the crime weapon**?

HASEGAWA: She had access to **Veritas** **'** **clothes**

HASEGAWA: She **was in contact with the body** , at least

MONOBEAR: She could even have taken anything...

MONOBEAR: ...from when you bastards **explored the Fourth Floor**

MONOBEAR: There's not a single thing linking me to the crime

KOBAYASHI: Not even **the bullet** thing is definite

KOBAYASHI: Is there really nothing only the masterminds could have done?

* * *

"There IS one piece of evidence Mimori-san couldn't have influenced in any way, something that shows the masterminds' direct involvement with the efforts to frame me" Mitsuhiko said, trying to put some obvious resentment in his words.

"But it would have been something big to make us believe it was you" Kobayashi added "There aren't many things that could fit that"

"There is one. Think about this: what made me a suspect?"

"The bullets and the...the..." Koshimizu realized immediately what Mitsuhiko was talking about. He clenched his teeth, he hadn't thought not even for a moment to doubt the integrity of the body discovery announcement "Those bastards...!"

"Right. The main reason you all decided I was a valid suspect is because of the body discovery announcement. We all have been basing stuff around that announcement for quite some time already"

"That is right. We wouldn't have hesitated taking the announcement as a way to narrow suspects in this case too" Hasegawa nodded.

"And that's what the masterminds used to frame Hikari-kun? They outright _lied_ with the announcement?"

"If neither Hikari-kun, Kobayashi-kun nor Koshimizu-san is the culprit then yes, it was all a lie. They must have thought we wouldn't have any reasons to doubt the announcement"

"And we didn't" Kobayashi murmured "I completely fell for that..."

Monobear had frozen once the commanders realized he had manipulated the body announcement discovery. Everyone expected him to protest and argue, hopefully digging a deeper hole, but he just didn't say anything at all. "...well?" Mitsuhiko asked.

"Come on, give us an answer" Romi prompted but they still received no answer.

"You can't just stand there and say nothing! Are you not even going to try to refute our suspicion?" Koshimizu frowned, still furious over the way he had fallen for the announcement.

After a minute of complete silence from Monobear Hasegawa sighed. "Seems like we'll have to continue by ourselves. It isn't like there's any believable excuse they could use, either. They screwed up"

"I think our most important matter here is Mimori-san's disappearance. Without her I don't think we can know everything about Veritas' death"

"We know one of the masterminds killed him. That should be enough"

"Yeah, but there are two or three masterminds, are we going to take such low chances of success?"

"There's not a single clue that indicates which one did it" Mitsuhiko grouched, hoping that, if they were forced to pick one, they got lucky "Either way, by know I think it's safe to say we have solved the case. And since there are no objections..." Monobear stayed silent "...then let's summarize this all"

"But what about Mimori-san?"

"We'll discuss that later. So, this is what happened!"

* * *

**Climax Inference**

* * *

_Before I start you must understand the culprit was not one of us. In fact, the real culprit is one of the masterminds behind Monobear and the hijacking of our reunion here, but it would have been impossible for them to get away with their crime without help. That_ _'_ _s why they had an accomplice helping them, somebody they already had used to their advantage before: Kyrie Mimori._

_She was tasked with completing the plan to frame me for the murder of Veritas. The culprit carried the corpse after murdering him in Yurie_ _'_ _s room, leaving him in the Cafeteria, and went away after providing Mimori of anything she may have needed to complete the plan without getting too hurt._

_She didn_ _'_ _t have to wait for long. I arrived to Camp Monobear, where I was going to my bedroom. She stood there, and once it was clear I had seen her she raised the gun the culprit provided her. She didn_ _'_ _t aim to kill, though; the plan was to provoke me into shooting her._

_If I had to guess, the masterminds_ _'_ _plan was to make me imitate the bullet wounds Veritas had, knowing I_ _'_ _d only try to incapacitate Veritas instead of killing him. It was not a very good plan, they couldn_ _'_ _t guarantee I would do it like they expected, and I think the culprit didn_ _'_ _t care about Mimori_ _'_ _s wellbeing in the slightest. The plan could go wrong in many ways and it did:_

_I shot Mimori on the shoulder, which didn_ _'_ _t fit the wounds the culprit had done already. Knowing I would realize it unless the wounds were identical, the culprit used Monobear to extract one of the bullets and insert it in the corpse_ _'_ _s shoulder._

_That_ _'_ _s where the masterminds started to get sloppy. Monobear wasn_ _'_ _t made for intricate actions; so many telltale signs were left. All that lessened the chances of anybody believing I had killed Veritas. There was no time to do anything else, as Mimori came running through the Cafeteria doors._

_And the plan continued to go wrong. As soon as Mimori entered she stumbled onto Lilith_ _'_ _s grasp. Sensing she had caught somebody, Lilith lifted Mimori to the ventilation shaft and dragged her away. Both Kobayashi and I heard the noises of that action, and Mimori was taken to parts unknown._

_The culprit must have been pretty annoyed the plan had gone wrong, so drastic measures needed to be taken. Knowing how much we relied on the body discovery announcement, they lied through it to make me look like the culprit. And it worked quite well!_

_That is how it all went. It was a very careless plan, and as such the truth has been discovered. The culprit is one of the masterminds controlling Monobear!_

* * *

Mitsuhiko finished. It was a bit complicated to tell, but it seemed the commanders understood well enough his reasoning, and although Mimori being an accomplice to the masterminds had been received grimly, it was the only scenario that could have happened.

"That makes sense. The masterminds are pretty much the only ones with a motive and a chance to kill Veritas. Shall we finish this now?" Koshimizu said.

"We can't vote! We don't know which mastermind killed him. Monobear already said we can't use him as a scapegoat here" Romi reminded him, making the medic sulk in his seat.

"That is cheating and everyone knows it" Kobayashi muttered, but there was nothing to be done on that regard "So what, are we going to sit here for the rest of the day?"

"Hold on!" Finally, Monobear said something "Upupu...gggrrrk...you seem awfully convinced of the truth behind your words, Hikari-kun. Beary, beary convinced"

"It's the only truth, what else did you expect?" Mitsuhiko said, but Monobear laughed uproariously.

"Amazing! Such confidence, such bearvado! I can bearly contain my excitement!"

"...what's up with the badly made puns now?" Romi whispered to Koshimizu, who could only shrug. Monobear was focusing directly on Mitsuhiko, and it was clear by now there was a point to his scorn. Until the bear said what he had in his head there was nothing anybody could do.

"Do you have any objections?" Mitsuhiko asked with dread. He still had an ace in his sleeve, so it was possible he was safe here, but one never knew what could go wrong with Monobear.

"Of course I do! You keep saying it over and over but I haven't seen anything proving I, the mighty Monobear, had anything to do with all this"

"But the masterminds-" Hasegawa started, attracting the bear's wrath. He strolled up to her, somehow managing to look adequately menacing.

"We are. In the. Fourth Floor. Are you saying we somehow managed to do all this from the Fourth Floor?"

"Monobear was used to-" Koshimizu tried to give an argument but Monobear didn't want to hear anything from him, either.

"Anybody could use anything to create the wounds. See these claws?" to demonstrate Monobear unsheathed them, almost thrusting them onto Koshimizu's face. The medic recoiled to avoid getting hurt from such reckless actions.

"There's no blood in them but we all know there's more than one Monobear in here"

"Then show me that other Monobear! Because I have _absolutely_ no blood on me and I _never_ had. Did you hear that, Hikari-kun? Want to see my fur?"

"You're about to throw a tantrum. Have some dignity, okay?" Mitsuhiko said dully, but in his head he was relieved. This was the argument he had hoped it'd be, and while he didn't know where the bloodied Monobear was he could at the very least prove a version of the bear had mutilated Veritas.

"I'm waiting, Hikari-kun! Where's the other me?"

"...I don't have it. I don't know" Monobear grabbed his snout, ready to laugh as mockingly as possible, so the hunter hurried to add: "But I don't need that to prove it. I can do it already, with proof I have right here with me"

"Nonsense! It's despairingly impossible, unimaginable, hopeless, impassable-"

"How good is that proof of yours, Hikari-kun?" Kobayashi whispered to Mitsuhiko, who assured him it was enough to shut the bear up.

"- inaccessible, inconceivable, insurmountable, preposterous, unattainable, unthinkable, unworkable-"

"Then do it before he finishes reading the thesaurus" Romi said.

"-useless, contrary to reason, hardly possible, hundred-to-one, impracticable, infeasible-"

"Okay, I got your point, it's despairingly impossible" Mitsuhiko raised his voice, stopping Monobear's long spiel of synonyms "Too bad that's not true-"

"I'm not listening!" Monobear shouted as high as he could before continuing what he was doing. _This is infantile. I better get done with this as soon as possible or I_ _'_ _ll lose my patience._

* * *

**Panic Talk Battle**

* * *

MONOBEAR: -irrealizable, no-go, no-way

MONOBEAR: -no-won, not a prayer-

MONOBEAR: -out of the question-

MONOBEAR: -unachievable, unobtainable-

MONOBEAR: -unrecoverable...

MONOBEAR: Un-un-un-un-un

MONOBEAR Graaaaar!

MONOBEAR: Did you understand?!

MONOBEAR: I'm not listening!

MONOBEAR: You got nothing!

* * *

**Monobear had nothing to do with the murder**

* * *

Blood on the File

* * *

"Shut up already! Look, I have this" Mitsuhiko took out the file he had received. He would have thrown it to Monobear's ever-grinning face if it weren't because the penalty would have been his life.

"That's one of the files I made. Are you so desperate you're trying to find evidence where there isn't any?"

"There is evidence here, but it's not in the inside. It's on the outside. Look here" Mitsuhiko showed the smudged blood he had seen when he had received the file "It's a bit hard to see, but this is blood. There's no doubt about that"

"So what?"

"Remember how these files came to our possession. Monobear stood in the hallway, right there in the entrance, but refused to come in. Instead, he left them in the entrance, so I had to take and give everyone their copy. Are you all following me so far?"

"I see! This blood can't have come from the corpse or the duel, right?" Hasegawa said, her mood brightening considerable. This was a small clue that was turning out to be much more important than anyone could have thought.

"Exactly! There's no way the files came in contact with any spilled blood, so what's the only moment this blood could have appeared here?"

"...are you sure you had no blood at all in your hands? All blood was fresh, it's not unthinkable you stained it yourself" Romi said, quite sensibly. Monobear, realizing this was pretty much the only chance he had to refute Mitsuhiko's proof, jumped in.

"Yes, exactly! Too bad you can't prove a thing-"

"I touched absolutely no blood" Mitsuhiko said with insurmountable conviction.

"Say whaaaat?"

"I said I touched no blood at all. The only one who touched these files was you and me, Monobear. And since it wasn't me then it can only have been you. The Monobear that mangled the corpse was the same one that gave us the files, and he tried to hide the blood by staying away from all of us. Is that enough or do I need to say anything else?"

Monobear stared at Mitsuhiko for a moment before getting off the table and leaving the Meeting Room without saying another word. The voting phase wasn't even initiated, and none of the commanders was going to try and bring Monobear back, either. All in all, it seemed like the trial had been a complete failure for the masterminds.

"...so...now what?" Kobayashi asked, expecting Monobear to return in any moment.

"I suppose it's over. With some luck the bear won't be back until we can at least know who the mastermind who killed Veritas is" Koshimizu said, standing up "Besides we haven't finished investigating all the secrets of this place. Let's take the chance to go and do that right now"

"Wait! We still have no idea where Mimori-san is" Hasegawa reminded them "I'd like to ask her a few things"

Mitsuhiko hummed and closed his eyes. As he saw it nobody in the Meeting Room would be able to find Mimori-san. She was in Lilith's possession, so unless Lilith willed it there was nothing they could do. "Lilith? Are you here?"

She was. From the grate on the ceiling wires descended, Lilith's head hanging upside down from them. "I heard everything. Thank you all for your cooperation"

"Our...cooperation?" Romi frowned.

"I didn't expect any of you to actually try to deal with the masterminds. Maybe you all can be useful for our goal"

"Do you have Mimori-san stranded somewhere in the ventilation ducts?" Koshimizu inquired. If Lilith could have shrugged she would have done it.

"I may not be Lily anymore but a few of my directives continue intact. Killing one of the liabilities is still not allowed. Keeping her inside the ducts would lead to death" That was not a calming answer. 'Liabilities' didn't hint anything good from Lilith regarding the commanders' wellbeing. Mitsuhiko still didn't understand what was Lilith's new objective, or why she was wrapped the Headquarters with her wires, but there was no time to wonder that right now.

"Okay, let's think. Mimori-san must be in a place where the masterminds can't see her. She can't be anywhere inside the Headquarters"

"She could be outside" Kobayashi said "In the sports shed or in the Greenhouse or..."

"It's impossible for me to reach any place that is not directly connected to a ventilation duct or where the masterminds aren't in" Lilith informed "Please keep that in mind while you're trying to find the hostage" The hunter cringed. The way Lilith talked was completely devoid of any positive emotions. Mimori was a 'hostage', for what, he didn't know. It was most likely for Lilith's plans, whatever they were.

"So the place must be connected through the ventilation system" Koshimizu said "So...we're pretty much limited to the Headquarters. There must be a place that can't be watched through a camera and is inside the building"

The commanders thought about that for a moment. There weren't really any options here. The only place they could think was the bathrooms, and Hasegawa then said she had checked them already. "Could there be a hidden room somewhere?" Mitsuhiko suggested.

"One the masterminds don't know of? That's not likely, unless Monobear just got out of here to search for her" Romi said.

"The only option for that would be the bricked Third Floor. If she's there then...how are we going to reach her?" Kobayashi said, looking at Lilith with distrust as if she could grab him without a word to drag him into the ventilation system.

"Is she in the Third Floor, Lilith?" Mitsuhiko asked. Lilith moved like a pendulum, the hunter somehow interpreting it as an insult. It was like she didn't care at all if they ever guessed right "Come on, what did Mimori-san do for you to take her as a hostage?"

"She cooperated with the masterminds, of course. That is enough for me to punish her"

" _Punish_ her?"

"1774: If you can't save the commanders, then get rid of the problem. The new objective is to kill the Main Board" Lilith narrowed her eyes, a mechanical screech coming from somewhere in the ducts "She isn't one of them but she helped. All I can do is try to kill her...indirectly"

"Kill her?!" Kobayashi exclaimed. That was exactly what Monobear would do! Had Lilith changed so much she was willing to do something the masterminds would do?

"Then it can't be the Third Floor. I don't think there's any way there to kill anybody, even if it is indirectly" Koshimizu reasoned "If I remember right from the time I studied here, all that is there is the Headmaster's Office"

"But then where would she be?"

"What about the roof?" Romi theorized.

"The Roof? You mean the terrace at the top of the school? I'm sure there's a camera up there, the masterminds would have seen her" Hasegawa said.

"No, I don't mean that. I mean the roof"

"The..." Mitsuhiko thought for a moment. It could be possible. No cameras, directly connected to the Headquarters, accessible from the ventilation system...and it was a place where Mimori-san could die. If she fell from the roof it was almost sure she could die "...that could actually be..."

"Is Mimori-san in the roof?" Koshimizu asked to Lilith. The way she stopped moving and froze with a sheepish expression answered that "Let's go"

"Wait, Lilith has her wires tying up all the paths to the outside. We won't be able to reach Mimori-san" Hasegawa said, getting them all to stop "Lilith, please, let us bring Mimori-san back"

"And why should I?"

"Think of it this way: Mimori-san is one of the masterminds' moles. She must know many things the rest of us ignore, and with her help we should be able to make them pay"

Lilith started to retract back into the ducts. "You can't guarantee she'll help you guys"

"Thanks to the masterminds' plan she got shot. I think she won't want to cooperate with them after that" Kobayashi said. Lilith stopped, hesitating on what she should do.

"Do you promise to make the masterminds pay?"

"We will" Mitsuhiko said, trying to convey as much seriousness as possible in his tone. Lilith stared at him for a moment before returning to the ducts.

"If you all fail then I'll take this in my own hands. There are two hours and half left. Once that time passes, or if it is clear to me you guys won't be able to make the masterminds pay...everyone in this building will die" those last few words were said with a tone that made Mitsuhiko shiver. A failure wasn't going to be tolerated, and they all have survived many problems until now.

They couldn't fail at the last part of the contest.

Monobear wasn't anywhere in sight. The commanders left the Meeting Room, wary but determined to go get Mimori and obtain some answers. Besides, there were many things left to investigate yet, this was their chance. _Maybe if we can go outside I_ _'_ _ll finally find a way to get onto that sealed area of the Third Floor. We must not let this go wrong!_

It was already night. The commanders shivered in the cold breezes they could feel on the Roof. "Yikes, good thing it isn't raining. Mimori-san must be freezing right now" Hasegawa said, rubbing her hands to try to get some heat.

"It's supposed to be summer. It shouldn't be so cold" Romi said "Who will be getting on the roof?"

"I will" Mitsuhiko said. Using Koshimizu's shoulders as footholds the hunter managed to get on the roof. The shingles were slippery, so he had to advance very slowly. There was a blurry dark shape in the distance, and the roof was criss-crossed with Lilith's wires. Grabbing those as a way to aid his crawling, Mitsuhiko continued until he was close enough to see who was there.

Mimori's state was disheartening. The roof tiles all around here were covered in blood. The suit she was wearing, identical to Veritas', was disheveled and almost falling down in several places. The cloth was ripped and there were lacerations all over her body, undoubtedly a result from Lilith's manhandling.

Several blood transfusion bags were strewn over her and over the roof tiles. The amount of blood spilled coming from the bags was unknown, but Mitsuhiko could see the shoulder where he had shot her was inflamed and still bleeding. Her skin felt disquietingly cold, no doubt due to the loss of blood and the low temperature outside. Overall it was possible Mimori wouldn't have resisted for an hour more.

The wires tying Mimori to the roof were loose. If Mimori had any strength to struggle and untie herself it was likely she would have fallen all the way to the Courtyard. It was no surprise Lilith had chosen the roof as the place to keep the hostage.

"I found her! She looks pretty bad here!" Mitsuhiko shouted, carefully removing Mimori from under the wires. "Mimori-san! Mimori-san, can you hear me?"

Mimori weakly opened her eyes, trying to focus on the person who had found her. "Who…?"

"She is alive!" he shouted. It was difficult to drag Mimori, she was in no condition to help herself. The hunter urged Mimori to stay awake.

"I'm sorry, I screwed up. Nothing would have happened if I hadn't-"

"Stop talking! We'll take you to the infirmary first" Mitsuhiko said. Once Mitsuhiko and Mimori were near enough of the rest of the group they took them. Koshimizu hissed when he saw the extent of the wounds.

"If she had received any help immediately she would be much better" the medic, remembering what Mitsuhiko had said about shooting her, tried to examine her belly to see the wounds. Fortunately Mimori had taken Veritas' bulletproof vest too "Even with this vest it's possible she may be bruised, at the very leaat"

"Let me help you carry her" Hasegawa said, leaving aside her cap. Between Koshimizu and Hasegawa they started descending from the Roof to the inside of the Headquarters. Mitsuhiko jumped from the roof to the Roof, panting.

"She looked pretty bad. Do you think she'll be in condition to answer a-anything?" Kobayashi approached to the hunter and asked.

"I hope so, Amy. Mimori-san owes us some answers. Maybe she knows stuff about the masterminds we wouldn't find otherwise"

"Then the masterminds could attempt to kill her" Romi said, rushing into the Headquarters. Mitsuhiko didn't think the masterminds would attempt anything as long as at least one commander was nearby. Their best chance was to interrogate Mimori as soon as possible and then continue with their investigation of the Headquarters.

This was the only chance they'd have to find out everything that stayed unanswered yet. None of the commanders was going to let that chance go.


	39. Intermission: Downwards Spiral V

Just like Vittoria had said Yurie helped to ensure his new identity, as well as to seal his past life. Between Vittoria's influence and Yurie's hacking skills he soon received everything he'd need. Identifications, documents, everything that signaled Mitsuhiko Hikari officially existed.

The weight of this change was noticed when, one day before the departure, Yurie gave him an official Hope's Peak diploma. Written in there and with the headmaster's signature this document declared he had officially graduated from Hope's Peak as Mitsuhiko Hikari, the Super High School Level Hunter. The diploma was the final nail of the coffin in his life as Hikaru Mitsuhide.

From now on he was a completely different person, as far as the world was concerned. "How did you get Kirigiri-sensei to sign it?"

"It was not easy, let me tell you that" Yurie said with great pride. When Mitsuhiko continued staring at her with skepticism she grinned sheepishly "Okay, he didn't really sign that. It's falsified but I assure you nobody will be the wiser"

"Why does that not assure me?" A counterfeit diploma, what a way to start his new identity as a criminal.

"The digital records will state you did graduate. Don't worry so much about that" she said with annoyance.

If Yurie said everything was going to be fine then he had no other option than to trust her. It wasn't like he could do anything about this; as far as he was concerned he had no way to fix it. It was possible Vittoria could, but he didn't want to abuse of her hospitality.

"What are you going to do now? We could enjoy our last day in this city" Yurie said, trying taking his hand. Mitsuhiko delicately pushed her hand away.

"I have to say goodbye to Kimiko. She's going to be the only one to know I'll be going away"

Yurie scowled as if he had just insulted her to her face. "That is stupid. Nobody should know" the hunter had the feeling her dislike was more rooted in jealousy than in a true wish to keep Mitsuhiko's new life a secret. Something he really didn't like about Yurie was that she was greatly possessive of him, and although he had told her once she didn't seem to really try to change that.

"She's my friend. I owe it to her"

Yurie let him go after a while, although her expression showed she'd rather to tie him to a tree than let him meet Sugita. Sugita was in the living room when he arrived, working on her homework from Delacroix. "Kimiko, got a moment?"

Telling her he was going to leave the city was one of the most painful moments in Mitsuhiko's life until now. The way Sugita's expression turned into one of disbelief, disappointment and the way her eyes filled with tears made Mitsuhiko stop several times.

"But why? Why do you have to leave us? I don't understand"" Sugita asked at the end.

"I'm looking for a new life, that is all. This Hope's Peak thing won't work for me, I have told you that several times!"

"It's just a few months more, you could-"

"I said I won't stay, Kimiko!" he almost shouted "Hope's Peak is a nightmare and you know it. I would be better in any other place besides that school"

Sugita tried to dry her eyes. "What am I supposed to tell my parents? They are going to ask what happened to you"

"Just tell them the truth, that I went to work to Kyoto. It's not that hard! I can take care of myself, so don't worry, okay?" Sugita bit her lip. Mitsuhiko, feeling a pang of guilt, passed an arm over her shoulders, giving her a hug "I'll be okay. Don't be sad"

"Oyama-san convinced you to do this, didn't she?"

Mitsuhiko froze. While that was not the complete truth it was close enough to cause discomfort. "No! She had nothing to do with this. I decided this by myself"

Sugita looked at him warily. She clearly hadn't believed a word of that but she wanted to trust him. That's why she didn't ask further than that. She wanted to believe Mitsuhiko knew what he was doing, and that he'd live happily. Mitsuhiko, believing he had finally convinced Sugita that he'd be fine, told her he was going to pack for his new life.

Before he left the living room Sugita called his name. "Hikaru-kun. Once I graduate I'll go look for you. I will want to know you will be okay, that this was not a mistake. I promise you that" The way she said all that made clear she was not kidding. In just a few months Sugita would go to Kyoto and look for him.

And to be honest...Mitsuhiko was happy for that. He didn't know how he'd be in a few months, if he would get caught in his link with Diavolos Avante and locked in jail, or if he'd still be working for Vittoria. And although the perspective of being caught in a bad time would be greatly embarrassing he felt his friendship with Sugita would lead to her supporting him no matter what.

"I hope to see you again" the hunter said with sincerity.

Six months later Sugita would corner Mitsuhiko in a cafeteria in Kyoto. She pretended the meeting to be a happy coincidence, but as soon as they had finished the small talk she confessed she had missed him. "The house wasn't the same without you, Hikari-kun"

"Don't call me that! My name is Mitsuhiko Hikari"

Sugita shook her head. "Why did you change your name? What have you been doing all this time?"

Mitsuhiko had been working hard under Vittoria's leadership. The first kill as a hitman had been a revelation: killing people, in terms of technical skill, was no more different than hunting animals. It still relied on stealth and on managing to strike a death without missing.

That didn't change the fact murdering left a heavy weight in his conscience, though. Vittoria had supplied him with a therapist for moments like those, and with the therapist's help soon he had managed to assuage a bit his guilt over killing people. From time to time he still thought about it, but the more time passed the less it weighed over his heart.

"I have been working, that is all"

Sugita narrowed her eyes "Are you telling me the truth? I think you're hiding something from me"

Well that was no good. Being friends with Sugita for so long had allowed her to at least sense if he wasn't being completely honest. She had realized he was not telling the complete truth about his wish to live in Kyoto. Sugita repeated her question, pronouncing each word slowly and clearly.

"I haven't been entirely honest with you. I'll tell you if you promise not to tell anyone"

Sugita promised she wouldn't. Mitsuhiko told her most of the truth; the only thing he left out was that Yurie had been the contact between him and Vittoria. The last thing he needed right now is see the glint in her eye she would undoubtedly have if her suspicion about Yurie was confirmed. As expected at first it seemed Sugita wanted to interrupt, demand explanations, chastise him for his choices, but at the end of his tale Sugita looked at her hands, thoughtful. "Are you okay?" Mitsuhiko asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay. It's just...I never imagined you doing something like this. I don't know how to feel"

"You don't have to worry about me. I'll be okay"

The rest of the meeting with Sugita went quite calmly, both of them trying their best not to touch the topic of Diavolos Avante. They parted ways, promising they'd call each other every once in a while.

Mitsuhiko never imagined Sugita would join DeeEy. He never knew how she had managed to get in or how she climbed the hierarchy until achieving the commander job in another prefecture.

Now that she was dead he deeply regretted never asking.

-ooooo-

"How has DeeEy been treating you, Hikari-shi?" Vittoria asked.

Mitsuhiko and she were walking in the park. It had been a year since Mitsuhiko joined the organization. He had been in charge of several missions already, and his efficiency had earned him a promotion.

"This whole criminal organization shtick is not like I thought it was. This almost feels like a real company"

Vittoria smiled "That is something my uncle and I want. The more normal this feels the better. I hope everything will be okay while I am not here"

"Are you leaving DeeEy?"

"No! I am leaving the country. I have to go take care of some business in Europe. With some luck I will be back in two years or so. Uncle will be in charge of Japan, so if you need anything, do not hesitate talking to him"

The thought of Vittoria not being in the country made Mitsuhiko a bit uneasy but he didn't say anything. He was not a little kid needing constant guidance; he was almost an adult by now. Surely he and the rest of Diavolos Avante would be okay without her.

"Will we be in contact?" Mitsuhiko asked, hoping for a positive answer. Vittoria frowned, though.

"I am afraid I will not allow you to contact me. The less people who know where I am, the better. It is just a cautionary measure, it is nothing personal" she hurriedly clarified, noticing Mitsuhiko's sudden change of expression "Only a few will know where I am. It is for the best"

Mitsuhiko nodded. He wasn't anybody with real or moral authority to tell Vittoria what to do or what not to do. However he felt like he should say something, especially since it meant Vittoria would be away for so long. The hunter gathered his courage and started talking.

"Vittoria, have been a great support to me. I met you in a time where I felt frustrated, like I didn't know what to do. I don't think joining DeeEy is the smartest decision I could have done but...I'm thankful I met you" he stopped, looking at Vittoria. He wanted to make clear how much it meant to him Vittoria's friendship "I know you are in some sort of secret mission or whatever, but if you ever need help please call me. I'll help you in any way I can"

Vittoria was inexpressive for a moment before covering her face with her hair. Mitsuhiko could hear giggles and, although he wasn't completely sure, he was pretty sure she was blushing furiously. "Th-Thank you, Hikari-shi. I will keep that in mind"

"Once you return we'll give you a great welcome back party! I'm not a party person but I'm willing to make a sacrifice for a good friend of mine. I hope you won't take long to return!"

"You will know as soon as I am back. I promise it" she said, peering from behind her hair "I will bring you a souvenir, but keep it a secret from Uncle! I think he may be a tad too protective"

"Really?"

"Yes! What is that expression, um... 'I am the apple of his eye'? If he finds out I am getting too close to anyone he will not take it very well. It was already hard for him to let me go on this business trip, I do not want to cause him more pain" she smiled ruefully. While Vittoria's private life was a secret from everybody despite her prominent position as co-leader of Diavolos Avante, it was no secret for anybody that Veritas considered Vittoria the daughter he never had. It was said at least half of his decisions, both involving DeeEy and everything unrelated to that, was influenced on what he thought she'd like, or was inspired in some way by her.

Mitsuhiko wouldn't ever admit he felt pretty jealous of such a close relationship with a family member. Being an only child, without uncles or aunts and therefore without cousins didn't help at all. And since his parents died Mitsuhiko was pretty much the last living member of his family. Still, at least he was glad Vittoria was happy.

She left that night, once again promising she'd tell Mitsuhiko when she returned. He waited, expecting any day to hear anything from her. Months, years passed. Nobody in DeeEy knew a thing about her status, and when Mitsuhiko tried to ask Delacroix about her, the man's glare was enough to shut him up.

It had been several years since anybody in DeeEy knew anything of Vittoria. Up to the night Mitsuhiko found Mimori on the roof, Vittoria Delacroix's disappearance was a complete mystery.


	40. Chapter 6: Endless Pit of Despair - Abnormal Days I

Mitsuhiko observed how Koshimizu worked on Mimori, trying to keep her stable. He and Hasegawa had just left her on a bed in the infirmary, leaving the wound of the shoulder in plain sight. She was quite pale, undoubtedly due to the blood loss. "Of course she had to use the blood transfusion bags to simulate the bleeding when you shot her" he mumbled, closing the door of the infirmary fridge with a scowl "Mimori-san is an idiot. If we had even a single transfusion blood of her type she could get better sooner"

"Is there anything left to be done? Is she in risk of dying?" Hasegawa inquired. She had just finished applying a bandage on the wound. It was not the best thing to do but anything that could stop the bleeding was needed right now.

"I won't lie, there's a chance. There are many factors that could kill her"

"If she dies then I would be the murderer" the hunter said. He had been the one to shoot her, after all. His bullet was what caused her to be bleeding out in the first place.

"Not necessarily. The masterminds are who pushed her to stand there and let herself be shot. If anything I'd say they planned this all to murder her" Romi argued from the entrance to the Infirmary. Her duty was to watch out for Monobear, in case he returned.

"That would explain why they decided to follow such a flawed plan. We won't know much more until we question her, though" Koshimizu returned to Mimori, delicately placing an IV needle into her arm "Okay, there's nothing else to be done. With some luck she will survive, but she will have to stay here for quite a while. I doubt she'll be able to join us in the trial later"

"Another trial? We just got out of one!" Kobayashi protested, rubbing his eyes.

"The masterminds said we need to answer all the mysteries of our meeting here. I don't know what's left to answer, though. Most problems have been solved already" Mitsuhiko pondered, closing his eyes. He knew the Main Board wouldn't let them all go so easily. If they said there were mysteries left then the remaining commanders needed to try their best to investigate the Headquarters, at least to be ready to answer any possible question. Failing was not an option.

The commanders decided to wait for a short time to see if Mimori could wake up for enough time to answer a few questions. If she stayed unconscious, or woke up but is unable to answer coherently, then there would be no more option than leaving and continuing the investigation. The bricked Third Floor was pretty much the last area to check, all they needed to do was find a way to get in there.

There were a few pieces of evidence Mitsuhiko had found that day, though, pieces that could come to be useful for the trial to come. Mitsuhiko recalled them, trying to prematurely try to make them fit together. While he wasn't successful on that regard, at least he knew those clues could be very important to answer the masterminds' questions.

**Lilith ' s Wires**

_Lilith wrapped wires all around the Headquarters. It_ _'_ _s theorized the reason she did this is to keep everyone inside the Headquarters, as the wires block all possible ways in or out._

**Shackles**

_A pair of shackles used to restrain Veritas to a pipe in a room in the Basement._

**Bloody Room in the Basement**

_A room in the basement. Its floor and walls are splattered in blood from at least two different occasions: one from no more than a few hours, the rest from at some point earlier, possibly days ago._

**Buried Body**

_A corpse, possibly Sugita ' s corpse, is buried in a room of the Basement. It doesn ' t match the expected state of the body after her execution._

**Twin Beretta M6**

_Mitsuhiko ' s secondary gun. Received from Hasegawa in the very first meeting in the Headquarters. It ' s part from a set._

Those were details that were barely or never touched during the past trial. It all seemed to be relevant for a few minor things related to the masterminds' actions, but as a whole nothing was really a huge revelation.

Kobayashi approached Mimori's resting form and sat to a side of her, hesitantly touching her forehead. The hunter hadn't noticed it, but the journalist had just woken up. Although she had no strength to move or even lift her head, maybe she would be able to talk to them. "Mimori-san? Can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear" Mimori replied. She sounded painfully weak, and although Mimori had helped the masterminds to create a plan to frame him for the murder of the DeeEy leader, Mitsuhiko felt some guilt for having contributed to her present status. He approached too, clearing his throat.

"Mimori-san, I have some questions for you" he said firmly. Mimori looked at him and smiled wryly.

"Of course you would. Did the trial happen already?"

"It did. The plan failed. We all know the masterminds killed Veritas"

Mimori's eyes widened, but it seemed she was actually glad to hear that. "That's great. You did it. I am so happy that-"

"Why did you help them?" For all Mitsuhiko knew Mimori was going to faint in ten seconds. Better to get to the point instead of letting her rambling around. Mimori's smile vanished, this was the question she indeed had been expecting and hoped wouldn't come so soon.

"Right. You mean why I helped them frame you?"

"We already know you are a mole" Koshimizu intervened. For the first time since Mitsuhiko knew the medic it seemed like he didn't want to punish somebody who had committed a grievous crime "What we want to know is why you were one"

Mimori sighed, resigned. "Okay, I'll tell you all I know. After what happened I see the Main Board doesn't care about what happens to anybody here. I don't know what their plan is now, but whatever they were thinking of at first doesn't matter now"

"So they may have changed objectives at some point?" That seemed important. There was no doubt the Main Board would ask about what their intentions were.

"Yes" Mimori rubbed her shoulder, thinking "I only met them because I followed Fukuyama-kun. He never told me why he was a mole, but in our first meeting they were...glad to have me on board"

"So you joined them _after_ we got here?" Kobayashi frowned "Why would you do that?"

The journalist pursed her lips, taking a carefully neutral expression. "I can't say why. You wouldn't ever forgive me if I said why I joined them"

"Are the masterminds really the Main Board?" Mitsuhiko asked, looking for validation. Mimori would be the only one who would be able to confirm his suspicion.

"They are. I didn't see their faces, though. All the times we met they had these...Monobear masks, like the one Fukuyama-kun had"

Mimori proceeded to tell the remaining commanders everything she had seen and heard during her meetings with the masterminds. How Fukuyama and she had helped them make the video. How, after Fukuyama's failure in helping Hosoya, they had decided to make him the culprit of the next murder. How she had helped Fukuyama plan the murder he'd later use with Hasegawa, and finally, how one of the masterminds was the one to deal with the Chemistry Laboratory. "I think it was Vieiras" Mimori clarified "His talent seems to be related to chemistry in some way"

"Do you know who killed Veritas?" Koshimizu asked.

"Hm..." Mimori at Koshimizu. For a moment Kobayashi gasped, as if she had just said the medic had been the one to kill Veritas, but she shook her head and pointed at Koshimizu again "One of the masterminds has the same muscly body type you have. I think he is the real killer. His name is...Wolfenmaus"

"Wolfenmaus, I see" Well that sure was much easier than Mitsuhiko had expected. They had even obtained a straight answer of who the real culprit was! Sure, Mimori had said 'I think', but chances were she was right.

There didn't seem to be more details for her to share. While she had not revealed a lot, the little pieces of information she had said were useful enough.

**Mimori** **'** **s Testimony**

_Mimori joined as a mole the night after the commanders arrived to the Headquarters. She confirmed the Main Board are the masterminds. Wolfenmaus is Veritas_ _'_ _murderer. All the masterminds used Monobear masks every time the moles reunited with them._

"We should leave her to rest now" Koshimizu said "The problem is that we also can't leave her alone. Any ideas?"

"Let me stay here!" Romi said from the hallway. She had been carefully listening to everything Mimori said "I can't go looking for clues due to my little eyesight problems. The least I can do is at least make sure she is safe from Monobear"

"...um, I don't know, if Mimori-san gets a sudden health problem I don't think you would be able to-" Kobayashi started to say, playing with the neck of his shirt. The insinuation Romi wouldn't be able to help properly didn't amuse her at all, though. She glared at him with all the intensity she could muster.

"Beg your pardon? I am perfectly capable to take care of somebody. Leave this up to me and go play detective with the rest. Mimori-san will be safe"

Chastised, Kobayashi dragged his feet and went away. Romi glared at the rest too, as if daring them to raise an objection. Knowing arguing was going to lead to trouble the rest of the commanders exited the Infirmary, settling the matter.

"Jeez, she really didn't like that. I suppose we should start now. What do we know?" Mitsuhiko inquired, ready to start organizing the troop. He had no idea how long they had, so they needed to cover everything they hadn't investigated yet.

"The Fourth Floor rooms are mostly off-limits. The masterminds are up there and we won't be able to enter at all" Koshimizu pointed.

"I doubt there's anything outside. We should be able to find everything we need in here" Hasegawa said "The only place we haven't checked at all yet is the Third Floor area we haven't been able to enter to yet.

"There's no way to go in! We already tried to find and break down the wall but there's nothing we can do" Kobayashi said.

"There may be a way in..." Mitsuhiko pointed at the ventilation ducts "But we're going to need the cooperation of a certain robot"

"Are you going to try to make us crawl into the ventilation system? Because Kobayashi-kun is pretty much the only one who would fit" Koshimizu looked at the grate of the ventilation chute, frowning.

"No! The Third Floor has these balconies. I bet if we can get to the second balcony we'll be able to enter the bricked area"

"And to get to the balcony Lilith would have to let us out. I get it" Hasegawa nodded "Let's do it!"

"I'll take Amy with me. Koshimizu-san, you should take the basement. There's this bloody room with buried bodies, you could do something there" the hunter said with the most innocent smile he could manage. Koshimizu's eyes widened.

"Dead...bodies? Me?"

"Is there a problem with that?"

"No. Thank you for warning me, I suppose" Koshimizu sighed theatrically. "This is what happens when I'm the only one around who can deal with corpses"

"Hasegawa-san, there's this office in the First Floor. I haven't checked in a while, but maybe there can be new information. I left Yurie in charge of trying to find anything there but...well..."

"She is dead" Hasegawa said bluntly "I can do that"

"We all have something to do now. Good thing most of the headquarters has been investigated already!" Mitsuhiko smiled. It wasn't guaranteed anyone was going to find something useful, but he had a pretty good feeling about everything. His part was going to be tougher than the rest's, though. It wasn't guaranteed Lilith could let him step into the Astronomy Laboratory, and even if she did, he still needed to get onto the other balcony. That's why he was taking Kobayashi with him; surely an illusionist – expert in outrageous plans to create something – could help with this.

"Let's all reunite in the Lobby in twenty minutes"

"That's good enough. Let's get started" All the commanders went to their respective places to do their jobs.

Kobayashi wasn't exactly enthusiast about having to work with Mitsuhiko. They ascended up to the Third Floor, walking towards the Astronomy Laboratory in silence. Once they go to the doorway to the balcony Kobayashi shuddered visibly.

"Lilith's new form gives me the creeps. What happened to her?"

"...it must have been caused by that weird code Sasuga-kun said before he was executed" Mitsuhiko put his fingers over one of the wires, tracing it up and down. The wires wriggled strangely.

"And why did she burrow into the ventilation system? I don't get it"

"I suppose it was the only way to go through the whole Headquarters without alarming any of us. It is..." no, that was wrong. Lilith wasn't exactly trying to hide her presence. She had been extending her tendrils through the grates, waiting to grab unsuspecting any passersby, and now that he thought about it, why did she do that? At first Mitsuhiko had thought Lilith had been trying to grab Mimori, but the scratches and blood he had on his hand bandages showed there was something else going on.

Why did Lilith try to drag anybody, not just Mimori, into the ventilation system? Had been Mimori's capture a coincidence or was there something else going on? Just what had Lilith been thinking that led to her laying those wire traps?

**Ventilation System**

_Lilith has stayed inside the ventilation system since the code her creator Sasuga said. She has laid wires through grates, trying to catch anybody to drag them into the chutes._

"Sasuga-kun created her, didn't he? What could he have meant with 1774?"

"It is the code used to make her turn into Lilith" Mitsuhiko stepped back from the passageway.

"So the code gives her a new set of orders to follow?" Kobayashi didn't really understand how robots and AIs worked. This was confusing to him.

"I think, yeah? We can't really know what she got ordered to do now" All I know is that it can't mean anything good for us. She already said she has to deal with the masterminds no matter what, and we all are "liabilities". If Monobear or the masterminds don't kill us then it's possible Lilith will manage to do it"

"We won't let it happen" Kobayashi said with a sudden dose of determination "We-We are going to find what we need and nobody will have to die. We'll all get out of here"

Somehow, hearing Kobayashi say that made Mitsuhiko feel better about their chances to survive. It was good to hear again that he wasn't the only one with the proper mindset to escape from the contest. He knew he could trust them all to try their best.

**Code 1774**

_The code that marked the change from Lily to Lilith. Sasuga, as Lily_ _'_ _s creator, is thought to be the only one who knew it. The exact directives the code led to are unknown_

"Now that I think about it..." now that they were talking of Lily there was a little something Mitsuhiko had looked for before. It was worth trying to find again "Some time ago I looked for Lily's blueprints in the laboratory but I found nothing. Think we may need them?"

"Sure, why not?" Kobayashi shrugged "We have nothing to lose. The more stuff we have the better"

"I'll get them" the hunter went towards the Physics Laboratory. The inside of that laboratory hadn't changed at all. Everything was as Sasuga and Lily had left it. The Death Ray, the lasers and mirrors collection, nothing had been moved from the spots. It was kind of comforting to know the masterminds didn't bother to move anything. That should guarantee that, if there were somehow clues to be found in other places, at least there was a chance the masterminds didn't conceal them.

The storage of the laboratory was even more untouched. It hadn't been long since the last time Mitsuhiko had been there and a layer of dust was already setting in. There seemed to be no changes at all. Lily had been made in the laboratory, he still believed that, but now the question was where Sasuga would keep them. Surely he would take them away, right?

"As I thought, they aren't here" nope, none of the blueprints was of the robot girl. A quick examination of the rest of the shelves showed the only objects around were tools and pieces of metal "I suppose it was to be expected Sasuga wouldn't leave those around"

Mitsuhiko had to return to where Kobayashi was waiting. The illusionist hadn't been standing around uselessly while the hunter tried to find the blueprints, when Mitsuhiko arrived the way to the Astronomy Laboratory balcony had been unblocked already. Not only that, Kobayashi had somehow managed to get Lilith to talk to him. The head of the girl had come out of a grate near the floor, the wires holding it withering like snakes. "Nothing?" Kobayashi inquired without any high hopes.

"Nothing. I suppose Sasuga-kun had them away" then, turning to Lilith "Do you know where your blueprints are?"

"Why do you need them?" Lilith asked with defiant tone. That reaction was not what Mitsuhiko expected, it was rougher than he thought it'd be. Could it be she knows about the location of those blueprints?

"Uh, I thought it could be useful...?"

"Well that's too bad" Lilith's head rolled around with a smile on her face "The blueprints have been destroyed"

Destroyed? Mitsuhiko had expected Lilith to know something but he didn't think she'd know it had been destroyed. "When did that happen?"

"It was just after I modified the banners for my camp. I retrieved the blueprints and destroyed them. Nobody will be able to see them again unless they try to extract the information from my memory banks" Lilith started to retreat back into the ventilation network "That's impossible, by the way"

"So Sasuga-kun had his blueprints in here?" Kobayashi asked.

"Yes! I kept them safe all this time. I can guarantee nobody but my creator could have seen those blueprints. Good luck with your investigation!" she closed her eyes and gave an angelic smile before disappearing into the darkness. Kobayashi shuddered again, wringing his hands.

"She is so creepy...was that useful in any way?"

"It could be. It's information, we need lots of it"

**Lily** **'** **s Blueprints**

_Blueprints for the creation of Lily. Lily kept them safe all the time and destroyed them just after Sasuga used the Lilith code. Only Sasuga and Lilith have seen the contents of the blueprints._

Kobayashi and Mitsuhiko stepped out into the Astronomy Laboratory. It was already dark, just what one could expect from the night. That could make the task at hand more dangerous and difficult. Mitsuhiko leaned on the rail of the balcony, pointing at the one that led to the inside of the building. "That's where we need to get to. It's too far to jump or anything like that, and the Roof is too high for us to try to descend from there"

"The Lookout doesn't reach that side of the building" Kobayashi looked upwards. The planks that used to hold the solar system models were above them "Lilith w-won't help us either"

"That's why I brought you here. Between the both of us we should be able to think of a way to reach that place" Mitsuhiko smiled encouragingly "Can you think of any clever plan, Amy?"

Kobayashi looked around; analyzing the place "This is a tough one. T-This would be much easier if there was more light around here"

"Tough luck, we can't fix that"

"Uh. Uuuh...I thiiiink..." Kobayashi stepped back, looking back and forth between the planks and the void between the balconies "...maybe we can use a couple of these planks to create a bridge"

"A couple? How are we going to manage to use more than one? They aren't even long enough to reach that place!"

"I-I think I can fix that! Give me some minutes and I'll try something" without waiting for Mitsuhiko's approval Kobayashi ran back inside. A couple minutes later the hunter could see how three of the planks from above retreated into the Lookout, undoubtedly taken by Kobayashi. Mitsuhiko had spent a while scolding himself for not thinking about this, it seemed like a pretty simple plan. _I bet I would have thought of it if I had a little longer to think..._

Once the planks there gone Mitsuhiko had to wait a few minutes before Kobayashi returned with all of the planks already nailed together, forming a long, thin and ridiculously unstable bridge. "Here!" Kobayashi shouted with childish pride, placing the bridge on the railing. It indeed reached the other balcony.

Mitsuhiko stared at the bridge, frowning with apprehension. "I don't think I can walk with that. If it breaks in middle of the trek then you know what would happen, right?"

"You don't have to worry about that. I have used wood from the Carpentry Workshop to make the bridge more resistant. It turned kind of heavy and I almost couldn't bring it here, but chances are it won't break" Kobayashi said with confidence.

"It's also way too thin. Are you sure it's safe?"

The illusionist scratched the back of his head. "Uh, erm, I think you should support yourself with the wall. If you place your hand on it and walk _very, very_ carefully you should be fine"

"Fuck, this is going to be a nightmare..." Mitsuhiko stared at the bridge for a moment. The other balcony was far enough to make the hunter nervous. They didn't have that much time but he couldn't hurry through the bridge. This could mean the loss of quite some time, it was possible that after going there, investigating whatever was in that area and returning, he wouldn't have time to check anything else.

The hunter slowly and carefully stood up the best he could on the edge of the bridge on the railing. Kobayashi helpfully approached and held the bridge while Mitsuhiko started to walk. Mitsuhiko was practically grabbing the wall with all his strength. His legs trembled, and while looking down was ill-advised he always kept his eye on the plank right in front of his feet. He needed to make sure every single step would be on the plank and that there was nothing to trip with.

"You're doing well, keep going!" Kobayashi stayed there, shouting encouraging words. Mitsuhiko felt more annoyance that encouragement but this was no time to be petty.

At least Kobayashi was right. The bridge was sturdier than it seemed, it buckled a bit under his feet but it seemed like it wasn't going to break.

Mitsuhiko reached the end of the bridge and jumped onto the second balcony, taking a deep breath. This had been more stressing than he had expected. "I-I did it!" he shouted, waiting for his legs to stop trembling.

"Want me to go too?"

"What? No! Stay over there. I'll need to enter myself. Go check the classrooms to see if there's anything to find. When I have to return I'll contact you through Lilith"

"Uh, got it!" Kobayashi nodded and entered back into the Headquarters. Mitsuhiko cracked his knuckles and peered deep into the dark hallway. All lights were turned off, and the walls and floor were coated with a thick layer of dust. It was going to be difficult to see until he managed to find a way to turn on lights. Preparing himself for whatever he could find, Mitsuhiko started to go in.

There was a small room just after the balcony. It was a Waiting Room too, just like the one in the Fourth Floor. The dusty couches and the coffee tables seemed to indicate that. Mitsuhiko touched the walls, looking for a light switch and finally finding one.

When the lights turned on Mitsuhiko could confirm that yes, this was a waiting room. To his right, pretty close to the light switch, there was a naked wall of bricks. Surely behind it there was a short hallway that led to the rest of the Third Floor. The hunter shrugged, seemed that even if they had managed to find and break the point of the wall where the wall had been bricked in they would still have taken a while to reach this side.

A quick search around showed there was nothing worthwhile in the waiting room. The plants were long dead and there was nothing in the furniture. It was a waste of time to look any further. After trying to take off the dust from his hands Mitsuhiko looked at the double doors that would, according to Koshimizu, lead to the Headmaster's Office.

The place where Veritas always spent his time in before the place got bricked for some unknown reason. There could potentially be clues there, although since this section showed to have been isolated time ago, the chance of it being related to their current situation was low. Still, it was worth taking a look.

Mitsuhiko pushed the doors open, relieved to find them unlocked.

The Headmaster's Office was a lavish room but it was...strangely generic. Surely Veritas wouldn't flaunt his status as leader of Diavolos Avante but Mitsuhiko had expected everything to be a more...notorious than all this.

There was no sense in criticizing the decor of the room, though. There were more important matters in mind.


	41. Chapter 6: Endless Pit of Despair - Abnormal Days II

Veritas' office at least had working electricity. It was good to be able to see everything clearly, although it all was covered in dust there was nothing to indicate there was going to be any problems. Mitsuhiko would be able to search freely.

The most visible object in the office was the desk, large and polished. Mitsuhiko turned around it and sat on the chair, making it spin a few times before focusing on the task at hand. On the desk there was a laptop, apparently without any energy. The energy cord was in a drawer, so after making sure everything was ready, Mitsuhiko turned it on. With some luck there would be no password stopping him.

He had no such luck. As soon as the computer booted up a password window greeted him. Mitsuhiko tested a few possibilities. 'DeEey', 'Diavolos Avante', 'Delacroix', Veritas' full name, other words and stuff he thought Veritas could use as a password. When nothing like that worked Mitsuhiko put his chin on his hand, thinking. _Okay, what would be Veritas_ _'_ _most important thing in the world? If it is neither his organization nor himself then..._

'Vittoria' Mitsuhiko typed and attempted to log in. Much to his surprise, that didn't work. The full name didn't work either. "That is strange. I would have thought her dear niece would be the password to the screen" he said aloud, looking around. Maybe there could be a hint around that could serve as a way to find the answer.

There were a few papers on the desk, showing reports from commanders around Japan. Mitsuhiko even found one he had typed, detailing the activities from the recent month. The date was one month before the actual date. _So one month ago Veritas was still using this office. He must have been kidnapped and taken to the Basement a couple weeks ago, I_ _'_ _d say._

**Commanders** **'** **Reports**

_A series of reports from commanders from all Japan. The newest one is dated one month before today. Found in Veritas_ _'_ _Office_

Mitsuhiko read a few of the reports without finding anything suspicious. It all was pretty normal in the sense it was the usual activities Veritas would have expected. Not a single line showed anything abnormal in the whole country, everything was going smoothly. Mitsuhiko made mental note of that. Maybe that normality could be useful, somehow?

It wasn't useful in finding the password, at least.

There was one single object more on the desk: a photo. Mitsuhiko took the frame, noticing the black ribbon that adorned a corner. The hunter took the photo out; it was just the person he had thought it'd be. Vittoria was smiling in the photo, sitting in the very same desk Mitsuhiko was pawing through right now. She seemed to be pretty happy, waving to the camera. Her whole face was visible, something that seldom happened.

Mitsuhiko couldn't avoid feeling a pang of nostalgia. What happened to her? Hoping to find some sort of clue, the hunter turned the photo around, finding something scribbled on the other side. "...damn it! I had hoped this wouldn't be..." Mitsuhiko muttered, feeling as if somebody had punched him in the gut.

_"_ _REST IN PEACE, VITTORIA. I PROMISE I WILL DO ANYTHING TO GO ON EVEN IF YOU AREN_ _'_ _T ON THIS WORLD ANYMORE_ _"_

There was also a date from a year ago.

That was written with Veritas' calligraphy. Mitsuhiko took a few deep breaths, greatly disappointed. He had harbored hopes Vittoria was merely hiding, or had quit DeeEy, but the black ribbon and Veritas' writing was evidence he couldn't deny.

It was likely Veritas hadn't announced it to everyone in fear it would bring down the morale. Vittoria was greatly loved by everyone; after all, the death of the group's darling would be a huge obstacle. Mitsuhiko put the photo in his pocket, greatly saddened.

**Vittoria Delacroix**

_One of the co-leaders of Diavolos Avante, thought to be missing. Actually dead, it is likely only Veritas and the Main Board knew it._

Not even once Veritas showed weakness or shock. Nobody could have ever guessed something as big as Vittoria's death had happened. Surely Veritas would have done something in Vittoria's honor, but...

"...wait a second..."

...that was it! There had been one change, something so subtle nobody had thought it was that weird. However now that Mitsuhiko noticed it there was no way he could be wrong. It was too much of a coincidence.

Not only that, he had the feeling that was a very important part of the puzzles the Main Board was sure to show. If only he could find proof so nobody could dare to deny it...

"If my hunch is right then Veritas would honor Vittoria in every way possible. Surely he would...!" Mitsuhiko opened the laptop again. He had now planned to write variations of one simple sentence: 'Rest in Peace, Vittoria'. It was a long shot, but it was worth a try.

The fourth combination worked. 'RIPVittoria'

Mitsuhiko now had access to the contents of the laptop, but it was unlikely he would have time to examine every single suspicious document there could be. Since Veritas had abandoned the office since a month ago it was going to be prudent to check whatever could be found around that time. Veritas, somebody known for being quite skillful in the matter of directing the organization, surely would have everything carefully organized.

It took him a while to find a long list of folders, each one labeled with a month and a year. Mitsuhiko clicked in the one fitting the timeframe he was interested in and found once another list of folders. Documents, emails, files, all that were separated in different groups. A quick cursory glance at all the folders showed nothing useful. While there were reports from all the commanders, Kobayashi being the only exception due to his recent acceptance as commander, it didn't seem like any of the files had anything suspicious.

"It can't be coming here was a waste of time. There must be something I could use!" Mitsuhiko hit the desk, frustrated. The framed photo of Vittoria fell onto the desk. The hunter stared at it for a moment, thoughtful. The date on the photo...around that date Veritas must have heard she was dead. The curiosity gripped Mitsuhiko, there could be something showing how or where she died. This was his chance to get some answers.

Once again the files and the documents showed no results. However...in the list of emails there was one name that got his attention, as it was on the date written on the photo and the commander who sent it was in the Headquarters right now. "...Mimori-san?"

It was marked with Kyrie Mimori's name. Intrigued, Mitsuhiko opened the email and skimmed its content. It was exactly what he had hoped he would find.

The email contained a report from Mimori regarding some matters in the European branches of Diavolos Avante. She, as a commander with journalist skills, was often given tasks about gathering information and keeping an eye on different delicate matters not only in Japan but the whole world. According to the email Kyrie had just returned from a trip to France, where Veritas and Vittoria were said to come from.

_'_ _I bring the information I found regarding your request to find about Veritas. I am sorry to inform what I have discovered is not good._

_She did arrive to France a year ago but at some point she went missing while in the country_ _'_ _s headquarters. It was believed she did that on purpose to avoid being followed by anyone, and until recently it worked. I don_ _'_ _t mean to sound prideful, but it was thanks to me we finally found a clue of where she was!_

_I am sorry for not having informed about this breakthrough at an earlier date, I didn_ _'_ _t want to give any potential false hope._

_My team and I followed the clues I found, arriving to the town she was said to be in. That is when it all went wrong, as all my questions and inquiries led to the same answer: a woman of the same description than Vittoria-san died shortly after arriving. A suicide, it was said. There_ _'_ _s no body left, it was cremated and spread in a nearby forest according to a will she left, but there are some clues that indicate it really was Vittoria._

_I am sorry to say there_ _'_ _s no hope in waiting for her. She is dead, chief. There_ _'_ _s nothing to be done_ _'_

A suicide? Vittoria, the Vittoria Mitsuhiko had met, had gone to some town in France just to kill herself? That sounded impossible! Mitsuhiko thought back at the last time he had talked to her, nothing indicated she was going to do something like that!

His first thought now was that somebody had murdered Vittoria and made it look like a suicide. That had to be it, but killing Vittoria would also be pretty difficult to do. She was nimble and kept an eye on everything around her, the killer would have to be extremely skillful to achieve that.

Still, Mimori had informed of Vittoria's supposed death to Veritas. Whether it had been true or not it didn't matter. From what Mitsuhiko saw, to the end Veritas believed she was dead. _Could this be one of the pieces I was looking for? I don_ _'_ _t know why Mimori-san cooperated with the Main Board, but maybe this could be the start piece to solve that._

**Mimori** **'** **s Report**

_An email from a year ago written by Kyrie Mimori, informing Vittoria Delacroix killed herself in France. There_ _'_ _s no reason to doubt its authenticity._

There was no other email that could be useful. It was true there were a few marked with the names of commanders who had taken part of the contest, but none of those emails showed to be useful in any way.

 _At least I found something useful_ thought Mitsuhiko while opening the last folder he was going to check. It was a list of all the reports that came to Veritas' desk. However there was a special type of report that interested Mitsuhiko right now:

One of the tasks that befell on the Main Board members was to analyze the content of all the reports from all around the world and condense them into a monthly summary of the general state of the organization. It was a task that was said to be alternated to each Main Board member, at least that was what Vittoria had told Mitsuhiko once. Maybe he could find something that indicated the Main Board did know about Vittoria's death. With that in mind he opened the monthly report closest to the dates after Vittoria's death.

What he found wasn't at all what he expected.

_'_ _Diavolos Avante is in shambles_ _'_

"What?" Mitsuhiko murmured in disbelief, having read that sentence. That was impossible! DeeEy had never shown signs to be weak, surely Veritas would have said something if that were even remotely possible! The hunter kept on reading.

Most of the report was pretty dry. It resumed the general state of all the branches of DeeEy around the world, their emotional state, the efficiency, every detail that would help to understand how everyone felt. It didn't paint a pretty picture. Since Vittoria disappeared DeeEy had started falling into despair, nobody knew what they were doing and it seemed the organization had no direction. While Veritas kept trying his best, it was Vittoria who held most of the organization's matters on her shoulders.

Veritas alone was incapable to deal with every problem the organization had. Sure, he had the Main Board helping him, but none of them had the skill and abilities Vittoria had.

_'_ _Chief, everything is going badly. If nothing is done we calculate Diavolos Avante will dissolve in max two months. Please, do something. We the Main Board will do everything we can to help, just tell us what to do and we shall do it_ _'_

It was signed by Valkyrie.

Mitsuhiko slumped on the chair, trying to process what he had just read. It was a bit difficult to believe the organization he had joined, the one that always seemed so steadfast and ready to continue forward no matter what, had been on its death throes less than a year ago. It was truly a miracle Veritas had managed to straighten up the situation before it all turned irrevocably hopeless.

...but was that really a miracle? Just what exactly had Veritas done to correct the situation? That is what Mitsuhiko hadn't found out yet, and none of the documents in the laptop, at least the ones Mitsuhiko checked, had any answers to that question. Somehow Mitsuhiko dreaded to find out.

After all, the situation now was that Veritas had been taken hostage by the Main Board and killed recently. That didn't happen for no reason. Something Veritas did had saved Diavolos Avante and doomed him. _But what is it?_

**Monthly Global Report**

_A report signed by Valkyrie. It tells how DeeEy as a whole was falling apart since Vittoria_ _'_ _s death._

That was enough. No more of that laptop. In just twenty minutes Mitsuhiko had found out many things he would have preferred to not to know. For a moment he felt afraid to continue snooping around, but that wasn't a luxury he could afford. Many people were relying on him. Not only the rest of the commanders alive, the rest of the troops in his division were waiting for his return. Surely the rest of the commanders knew that as well, they had people to return to. He couldn't leave them aside just because he learned a few truths.

Resigned, Mitsuhiko stood up and walked to the shelf. Books stared back at him while he dusted the spines and read the titles. Those seemed like a collection of important matters, most of them not related to DeeEy. Opening one at random Mitsuhiko found it was more of a record of all thoughts Veritas had of the matter. It was all exhaustively filled with even the most random thoughts the man had about those topics, as well as everything he knew. Notes signaling where to find stuff supporting his thoughts were annotated to the sides.

There was a specific one that got his attention, though. 'Mutual Killing Game – Bunker – April 14th'

"Oh! The one Volkos was said to have done" Mitsuhiko took that book quickly and opened it. It was rather thin, showing just how little Veritas knew about what could be the truth of that event. The very first line was quite a hint, though:

_'_ _Kudo-kun did it, somehow_ _'_

"Did he?" Mitsuhiko turned the pages to go check the end. After all, that's where the recent developments would be. If Veritas ever changed his mind of who the one responsible for that was then he surely annotated it.

The last entry said:

_'_ _The people Matsukaze-kun chose for his killing game seems to have been people who were trying to get into the Future Foundation, but there are some that are somehow related to actual commanders in some way. For example, that Chihiro Toriumi woman. She is the romantic interest of our commander in Ose, Fukuyama-kun._

_I talked to him to try to find out if he knew why Matsukaze-kun would have any interest on her. He had absolutely no idea, but I could see he is greatly perturbed from that. I am a bit concerned about Fukuyama-kun now, but he could be a good ally in my attempt to find the real truth behind this event after he gets some psychiatric help._

_I will visit the bunker again, this time to check the systems Matsukaze-kun used to deal with everything. That should give me some answers_ _'_

The date was the same of the day Mitsuhiko calculated Veritas had been kidnapped in. He had been getting too close to the truth and the Main Board had decided to silence him, that seemed to be what happened here.

A quick scan of the rest of the book showed Chihiro Toriumi died in the bunker. _Fukuyama-kun can_ _'_ _t have taken it well._ The Main Board may have taken advantage of that to force him to be the mole, from what Mitsuhiko saw.

**Mutual Killing Game in the Bunker**

_A game the Main Board says Kaiji Kudo_ _–_ _Volkos_ _–_ _was responsible of. Fukuyama_ _'_ _s fiance_ _é_ _died in that game, affecting his emotional and mental health._

Mitsuhiko took the whole book, just in case. Maybe during the trial there could be more information to be found in it, if the Main Board ever brought up that mutual killing game. Right now there was no time to read it all, after all he still had to meet the rest of the commanders to see what they found.

It was unlikely there was anything else to be found in Veritas' Office. There were no hidden rooms, passages or anything besides the furniture Mitsuhiko could see. May as well get out.

Returning to the balcony was the easy part. Now the problem was to return to the rest of the Headquarters. Without anybody holding the plank Mitsuhiko really didn't want to try to walk on it, and there was no way breaking his spine after falling all the way to the Courtyard was going to be of any help in the future trial.

The hunter had said he would call Lilith, but he wasn't sure she would listen to him. It was worth a try, though. "Lilith!" Mitsuhiko shouted into the nearest ventilation shaft "Lilith, I need some help over here!" It took a minute or so to hear something the telltale sound of Lilith slithering through the vents towards him. When she stuck her head out of the grate, glaring at him, the hunter tried to smile with as much friendliness as possible.

"Lilith, dear friend, lovely young robot girl, would you help me cross this plank here?"

"...Hikari-kun, do you really trust me enough to ask me that?" she didn't seem amused, for some reason.

"Your directives state you can't kill any of us directly. Besides I found a lot of stuff that can be useful to defeat the masterminds, don't you want me to take this proof to everyone else?"

"I know. I was just playing coy" _That wasn_ _'_ _t coy, that was being an asshole!_

Lilith extended her tendrils through the floor to the plank, using the rail as additional support. It was a bit flimsier than it would be if a human had been holding it, so the hunter suggested she did the same at the other side. "That should make it easier to walk on" he said, knowing this meant his physical wellbeing depended completely on Lilith. He really hoped she understood he wanted to be of help; otherwise this had all the potential to end badly.

The hunter stood on an end of the plank and started walking forward, using the wall as support and keeping his eyes on the surface of the wood. He could feel his sweat making his shirt stick to his back, and mentally prayed for this to go okay. It took five nerve-wracking minutes for him to cross all the way to the Astronomy Laboratory, but he managed to do it. Once he jumped onto the floor of that laboratory – and resisted the urge to kiss the floor with relief – he sighed noisily. "Never again I will try something like that"

"It can't have been that bad" Lilith said, getting her tendrils back onto the ventilation system.

"Easy for you to say because you weren't the one in danger" Mitsuhiko shook his head "But thank you for helping. How have the rest of us been? Do you know if they found something?"

"You're lucky I have nothing better to do other than watch you all do stuff" Lily's head rolled on the floor while she thought "I think Hasegawa-san and Koshimizu-san have found some serious stuff. I saw them shout in surprise. Kobayashi-san didn't find anything"

"Of course Amy wouldn't find anything. At least he tried" It was a relief to know the others had found something they could use, though. With Romi taking care of Mimori the four commanders left active had to do anything they could to find information. Grasping the book Mitsuhiko had taken with him the hunter returned to the Infirmary.

Everyone was already inside, discussing their findings. Mimori was asleep, so at least Romi had managed to fulfill her role and not let her die. When asked Koshimizu said that, while Mimori was slightly better, her chances of survival were still rather low.

"Let's forget about Mimori-san for a moment and focus on what's going on" the medic said "I'll start. Hikari-kun, first than all let me tell you I hate you so much for leaving me that room in the Basement to investigate"

"...was it really that bad?" Mitsuhiko asked, intrigued. Koshimizu narrowed his eyes.

"Do you have any idea what was down there?"

"Kimiko's body may have been there. Are you saying you found..." while Mitsuhiko sure had considered that possibility, he didn't think it would actually be correct.

"I found everyone's dead bodies in there. Absolutely everyone. From Yasumoto-san to Sugita-san, everyone has been killed and buried in that room in the Basement"

If anyone had been holding onto a hope the others had survived then it was all broken by now. There was nothing to do with that. After holding an impromptu minute of silence for their dead comrades Romi asked Koshimizu to continue.

"Do all the bodies fit their time of deaths?" It was nasty to talk about the potential decomposition of corpses, but there was no option.

"They did. It was a very unpleasant experience to have to touch them, but after finding Sugita-san's corpse first I just had to do it" Koshimizu pointed at a trash bin with his thumb "I returned here for some gloves, went back to the Basement and unearthed all the bodies so I could check the cause of death"

"Wait, do you think a victim or a culprit may not have died like we think they did?" Kobayashi asked.

"That's exactly what happened. I can tell you all without any room for doubt no culprit died in the way the executions showed"

Koshimizu let the implications of that hang on the air. "Are you saying...the executions were all fake?" Hasegawa seemed rather weirded out with that "Why would they be fake? I saw myself the machines in the bunker for my sister's game, why wouldn't the masterminds here set machines too?"

"There was no time for that. This was all planned quickly, there was no time to create such thing for all of us" Mitsuhiko said.

"There's also no space anywhere for that! These Headquarters are rather small; it isn't like they could have fit a dozen execution machines in the Basement or something" Koshimizu pointed.

"Then how did they die?" Romi asked.

"I can't say it with certainty, but I think they got shot on the chest. It's likely it was done with the shotgun I found in a nearby room down there" the medic shrugged "By now it doesn't matter that much, does it? What matters is that we have confirmed it now, nobody but us and the masterminds is alive in this place"

"Couldn't any of them be a fake body?" Mitsuhiko asked without thinking. Koshimizu glared at him as if he had suggested performing revival experiments on the corpses.

"No! I looked at their decomposing faces, it is unmistakable. All of them are the real deal"

**Dead Bodies (update)**

_The corpses of all the victims and culprits. The culprits didn_ _'_ _t die like the executions had showed, instead they got shot by a shotgun by somebody, most likely the masterminds._

"So that's why there was no blood or anything at the places they had supposedly died at" Hasegawa said.

"Then how were the execution videos created? We all saw them; they showed the culprits and all" Kobayashi wondered.

"I don't know. You'll have to ask that to the masterminds. Maybe one of them is an expert on videography or special effects, does it really matter how they did that?" the medic replied.

"Then couldn't the hostage video we saw be completely faked as well?"

That wasn't a bad point at all, Mitsuhiko had to admit. If a mastermind had such skill it would be no problem for them to fake that video too! "That doesn't matter either" Hasegawa said "We all know already the Main Board weren't held hostages"

"Hasegawa-san is right, who cares now?" Romi nodded.

**Hostage Video**

_A video showing Veritas and the Main Board shackled onto a pipe, possibly filmed in the Basement. A person with a Monobear mask had talked, most likely an accomplice. It_ _'_ _s already known to be all fake._

"Well at least you found something. I was told there was something huge you found too, Hasegawa-san, what is it?" Mitsuhiko prompted Hasegawa to start talking. Did Yurie manage to do something before she died?

"Right! There's some stuff you all must know about. I think it explains most of what's going on with the Main Board. Let's see..." Hasegawa took out something Mitsuhiko recognized as Mimori's notebook, apparently borrowed by the false courier. It was choked full of notes in Hasegawa's calligraphy. "Oyama-san left you a note, by the way: 'You didn't think this would really be a problem for me, did you, Mitsu-chan?"

"Yurie..." Mitsuhiko closed his eyes. Of course Yurie would type something like that. It was better for him to remember Yurie typing that and those being her last words than...how she finally ended and the last few things she said.

"She practically broke all defenses and unveiled files I think would have remained hidden otherwise. There's just a couple that matter, in my opinion. The first one" Hasegawa left the notebook on the floor as if she expected everyone to read from it. She seemed to have memorized the contents of the page already, as she continued talking. Mitsuhiko didn't pay much attention, instead choosing to read directly from the notes.

It was an email convo between Veritas and Yurie.

_'_ _Junko Enoshima AI, Prototype Version_

_Chief. That is what I managed to find in that computer we found, the one that is said to be used by some SHSL Despair. I don_ _'_ _t know how true that is, but this is big. Can you imagine what would happen if a robot got Enoshima_ _'_ _s mind? That would be just as bad as if Enoshima were alive again, the despair would never end._

_I request permission to modify this prototype and attempt to put it back in their computer to sabotage whatever plan they have_ _'_

**_'_ ** **_Don_ ** **_'_ ** **_t do it yet. First tell me more about it_ ** **_'_ **

_'_ _There_ _'_ _s not much to tell, it_ _'_ _s just an AI. From what I see it is designed to autorun after a while once it_ _'_ _s in a system. I have it opened in a safe sandbox with all the protections I could make yet I don_ _'_ _t know if I stopped it successfully_ _'_

**_'_ ** **_Would you say it_ ** **_'_ ** **_s connected to the schematics of the memory modifier we found months ago?_ ** **_'_ **

_'_ _Maybe? I don_ _'_ _t know why both would be used together. My first thought is that the AI could be inserted in a human brain but in its actual state it would be impossible, or at the very least very unstable. It is just a theory but the brain damage it could cause could lead to death, or at the very least to a gradual deterioration of the mental functions_ _'_

**_'_ ** **_Pass me the file_ ** **_'_ **

The rest of the messages were all from Yurie and showed no further response from Veritas. Mitsuhiko felt a pang of dread when he saw the date written above those messages. Apparently Yurie passed the AI prototype just a couple days after Valkyrie's monthly report.

_'_ _Sent it attached to this message. Chief, are you going to examine it yourself?_ _'_

_'_ _Chief, the memory machine shows signs of activity with yesterday_ _'_ _s date. What happened?_ _'_

_'_ _Don_ _'_ _t run the AI. Please, respond_ _'_

_'_ _Chief, I_ _'_ _ll trust you. I just hope you did nothing dangerous_ _'_

That was the end of the convo.

"Veritas...he wouldn't dare, would he?" Koshimizu mumbled, looking surprisingly sullen instead of outraged.

"What's this memory machine business?" Hasegawa asked, picking up the notebook and flipping the pages.

"Yurie once mentioned to me she managed to retrieve schematics for a machine that's supposed to allow one to modify memories" Mitsuhiko explained "It's supposed to be a top-secret business involving the Main Board"

"Veritas once asked me about the effects of memory modification. I did my best to dissuade him from using it on anyone but I don't see what other use he would have for the AI. I think Yasumoto-san was called to talk about this too, and she told him to not to do it, too" the medic said.

"He may have modified somebody's memories, but whom? Think the Main Board kidnapped him and us as revenge for him using the AI on somebody?" Romi theorized.

"That could be their plan, too. Insert the AI on whoever won the contest"

All they could do was speculate. Mitsuhiko had a good idea of what had Veritas had done with the AI, that would explain the Main Board's sudden betrayal, but he had no idea if the Main Board tried to do anything else with the AI. _It can_ _'_ _t be good, either way._

**Junko Enoshima AI Prototype**

_A prototype Yurie stole from SHSL Despair, somehow. Given to Veritas. It is theorized it could be used with the memory modification machine, which only Veritas, Yurie, Mitsuhiko, Koshimizu, Yasumoto, and the Main Board knew the existence of._

"Was that all you found in the computers in the Administrative Office?"

"There was also another file I think is weird enough. Take a look at this" Hasegawa once again left the notebook in middle of the group. When Mitsuhiko read the short message he remembered having seen it before.

It had been a decree of sorts from Veritas to the group as a whole. Nobody had thought it to be important, just a random decision taken by the ringleader, nothing to be worried about. However now that Mitsuhiko thought about it, the date seemed to be too important to ignore, especially with everything he now knew.

One day after Vittoria's supposed death, this was the message sent to everyone:

_'_ _The members of the Main Board have changed their codenames. Please refrain from using their past codenames, instead please use these ones when you need to contact us or talk between each other_ _'_

The list had the codenames they all knew: Valkyrie, Vieiras, Volkos and Vulcano. "...so this is what Veritas did after she died: honor her the best way she could, giving her name to the rest of the Main Board"

"We all knew she was the brains behind the man" Koshimizu shrugged.

"Who is Vulcano?" Hasegawa asked, taking the note back.

"It was a member of the Main Board who died recently, shortly before the whole deal with the bunker happened. I think he was already replaced" Romi explained.

**The Main Board** **'** **s Names**

_Veritas ordered the Main Board to change their codenames to include the letter V in order to honor Vittoria. It was done one day after her death._

The survivors perused the rest of the information obtained from the computer network Yurie had gotten access to, but nothing else seemed to be of special relevance to the trial to come. In fact, many of the things they had found seemed to be about background details. While they all knew the Main Board were the masterminds, nothing they had found hinted which one had killed Veritas, and Mitsuhiko knew they would try to play that in order to kill them all.

_They play dirty. We can_ _'_ _t let them get the edge at any point or we lose. How are you supposed to defeat three insane masterminds?_

Mitsuhiko's musing was stopped by a voice coming from the speakers. It was time. "Don't you think you guys had enough? Let's get started! I hope you are ready, because there'll be no room for hesitation here!" whoever was talking wasn't even trying to disguise their glee. Either they had something nefarious planned, or they sure none of the survivors would find anything meaningful. Both seemed equally likely.

"…it is time. Are we ready?" Romi inquired. Romi, who was never really able to help in the investigations. The only time she seemed to be active in a trial was when she was trying to deflect any suspicions in the second case. She wasn't going to be very useful, Mitsuhiko supposed.

"As ready as we can be. Let's hope for the best" Koshimizu replied gravelly. Koshimizu, who was always at odds with Mitsuhiko but seemed to respect him. Koshimizu was usually a strong contender in the trials, and had a sharp enough mind. Mitsuhiko trusted he'd do great.

"That's all we can do for now, but it isn't so bad" Hasegawa shrugged. Hasegawa, false courier who had tried to kill them all and almost managed to do it. Since she had been found out she had stayed aside in the trials, like she was afraid of getting in the way. She better not do the same here again.

"We have survived so far. We can resist for a while longer" Kobayashi rubbed the arm Mitsuhiko had shot so long ago. Kobayashi, nervous yet kind enough, he had managed to resist despite the bullet wound. It wasn't completely healed but it shouldn't impair his skills during the trial.

"I'm sure you'll all do fine. Go already" Mimori had woken up a bit ago, it seemed. She was writhing in pain but tried to keep a brave face. She had always been another force to be wary of during the trials, but now there was nothing she could do. Mitsuhiko hoped she'd be okay.

"Let's get going!" Mitsuhiko said, but there was something he wanted to do before he went away. He grabbed Hasegawa's arm, stopping her just before she crossed the door threshold into the hallway. "Hasegawa-san, there's something we haven't talked about"

"What is it?"

"Tell me about the first few minutes you got here"

Hasegawa touched the rim of her cap, thinking back to her arrival to the Headquarters. "Right, my pals here in this place had left the gates open. As soon as I entered I closed them, which would trigger the lock that would keep the gates closed. Sasuga-kun made the lock"

"Really? So you are the one who locked us all in here" Mitsuhiko narrowed his eyes "Could Sasuga-kun open the lock anytime?"

"I don't think he could. If I'm not mistaken our dead comrade was the one who had the key for it. It went missing when she died, apparently"

"I took it" Mimori said from the bed "And I gave it to the Main Board during the night. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…"

"Figures" Mitsuhiko groaned and then gestured at the false courier "Continue, please"

"Uuumm…so, I was taking in the bag filled with fake packages and the one for you. We had obtained your name from Veritas' records – Sasuga-kun did that too – and I provided the gun. It was my husband's gun" That made sense. If the other gun from the set was up there in the Fourth Floor, where the Main Board was said to reunite, it was to be expected Volkos would have access to them.

"But why was it given to me?"

Hasegawa hesitated for a moment. "…to say the truth…we were planning to get you into the plan, but we changed your mind after seeing your behavior when you arrived. I didn't hear about it because I was not in the Meeting Room, but if I had then you wouldn't have received the gun"

So he had pretty much shot himself in the foot when he acted all cocky with Yurie when they arrived. In hindsight he had been an idiot, hadn't he? "Okay, one last question. Sasuga-kun, you…who is the last one in the team? I know it must have been one of the four first to die. Which one was it?"

Hasegawa looked away. "I can't tell you. I want to, but I can't"

"Come on, this is important! Who is the third person?"

"…I'm telling you I can't say it!" Hasegawa's eyes flickered to the ventilation ducts. Mitsuhiko realized there was this creeping feeling he was being watched, and it wasn't Mimori. Of course. Lilith. Surely Lilith had something programmed to prevent Hasegawa or the third person from tattling about any of this. Sasuga must have done it as a way to guarantee there would be no traitors amidst those three.

"Okay, we can find out later. I bet that is something the Main Board is going to ask about so…"

"Just so you know, I'll be obligated to attempt to deny what you say. I'm sorry" she said hurriedly, still glancing at the ventilation system.

"Fine, I get it! You can't talk about that" Mitsuhiko said "Let's get going"

**Hasegawa** **'** **s Testimony**

_Hasegawa closed the gates, the automatic lock was made by Sasuga. The Main Board has the key. The Twin Beretta M6 Mitsuhiko received belonged to Volkos and was provided by Hasegawa._

Now that he thought about it…Hasegawa had said some stuff a long time ago, didn't she? It took him a moment to remember, it had been related to Hasegawa's true identity. She was a Future Foundation agent, but Yasumoto had acted like a lie detector and assured him she wasn't lying when she denied it. The hunter frowned, that moment looked extremely suspicious now. Yasumoto jumped to the top of the suspicion list he had about who was the third person in Sasuga's group. Was Yasumoto really the leader of that group?

**Yasumoto** **'** **s Testimony**

_Some time before her death Yasumoto assured Mitsuhiko Hasegawa wasn_ _'_ _t a member of the Future Foundation. The method wasn_ _'_ _t 100% accurate._

Mitsuhiko and Hasegawa left the Infirmary after telling Mimori to rest. The journalist seemed to be extremely weak, she just nodded and tried to fall asleep again without much success. Hasegawa was going in front, and before Mitsuhiko could follow he felt something wrapping around his arm, almost cutting his skin. "H-Hey!"

"It's Lilith…" Hasegawa seemed reluctant to approach, as if she feared she had said something wrong and caused Lilith to take some sort of action. Lilith didn't try to harm Mitsuhiko, though, instead gently pulled him back into the Infirmary.

"You go ahead; I'll be there soon!" Mitsuhiko said before Lilith pulled him inside the Infirmary. Once he was back inside – Mimori ignoring what was going on – Lilith let go of his arm, slithering from a vent near the floor. Her head rolled around slowly, as if appraising Mitsuhiko.

"So you think you are ready. I like you, Hikari-kun. You have a certain something about you we found interesting"

"…thank you?" It couldn't be Lilith had dragged him back inside just to compliment him. The robotic abomination brought some objects out of the ventilation system.

There were two sheets of paper, apparently with some stuff written in it. More evidence? "I thought this could be of help. It's nothing you haven't seen before, but it'd be good if you had tangible proof about these" she slid the papers to Mitsuhiko, who picked them up to take a better look.

It was the document Mitsuhiko had read before Hasegawa decided to poison everyone, the one about Kaiji Kudo. He had wondered where it had gone, but it seems Lilith had taken it away. Hadn't she been the one to leave it in their sight in the first place?

**File About Kaiji Kudo/Heiji Hasegawa**

_A file relating how Volkos did a mutual killing game in a bunker. He_ _'_ _s listed as having two names: Kaiji Kudo and Heiji Hasegawa_

"Oh, right" Mitsuhiko browsed the file, not finding anything new "So…the Main Board outright lied with this. Maybe Veritas found it out?"

"I don't know" Mimori said "I would be surprised if he didn't suspect anything at all. He may have been kind of bad at times when it was about being a leader, but he wasn't stupid"

"I'll also take this, I suppose" Mitsuhiko took the other paper, finding it to be shorter than the file about Kudo. It was a letter "Wait, I recognize this! This is the letter I obtained to come here!"

"It's the template my creator used to make everyone's letters" Lilith explained.

_May 12th_

_Greetings, NAME_

_We at the Main Board have noticed your recent performance as the commander of our forces in PREFECTURE. You have been doing an excellent job and as a reward for your work you have been chosen as a candidate to be a member of our Main Board as the representative of our teams in Asia._

_If you're chosen you'll receive all benefits we have and you'll have a very promising future after the world is back to normal. Please present yourself in the Diavolos Avante Headquarters in three days at noon._

_Please don't tell anybody about this letter._

_Valkyrie._

"Why was Valkyrie's name used as the signature here?" When Mitsuhiko had received the letter he wouldn't have ever thought it was fake. The Main Board didn't tend to sign their notices and letters, which in hindsight was a glaring security flaw.

"I don't know. My creator didn't share everything with me, Hikari-kun. I only know what I know" Lilith said before retracting into the ventilation system. Her voice reverberated from the vent "You should get going. The trial should be about to start"

**Summoning Letter**

_A letter from Sasuga, used to get the commanders to the Headquarters. Signed with Valkyrie_ _'_ _s name. The contest_ _'_ _s prize was getting appointed as the representative of all teams in Asia_

Mimori writhed in pain again, sweating profusely. She groaned, getting Mitsuhiko's attention. "Will you be okay?" the hunter asked.

"I-I will. Go already" Mimori murmured, shooing Mitsuhiko away. Mitsuhiko hesitated but went away, leaving the journalist alone. He was feeling pretty guilty; his bullet had been what caused all that pain. He couldn't stop to take care of her, though, so he trotted away towards the Meeting Room.

The rest of the commanders were standing right outside the Meeting Room, all of them showing confusion in their faces. "There he is" Kobayashi said while Mitsuhiko was approaching "We were waiting for you"

"I hope the bear isn't pissed off," Mitsuhiko said without really having any hope about that.

"If that's your worry then there are good news and bad news. The good news is that the bear isn't angry with anyone. You are safe" Koshimizu said with some amusement in his expression. Mitsuhiko rolled his eyes, knowing how the act tended to go.

"What about the bad news? What sort of plot twist do you have that will show to be harmful for us?"

"Monobear isn't there. I don't think that is good"

"Yes, he called us already but he isn't here. I think he is planning something" Romi said.

"…well we can't stand out here for the rest of our lives, can we?" Mitsuhiko opened the Meeting Room doors "Mimori-san will be okay. I don't think the bear will try to hurt her"

One by one the commanders sat in their spots, five people left among the sixteen that started at first. Mimori counted as a survivor too, that is, if she survived her wounds. They waited in silence for a few minutes, waiting for Monobear to appear out of nowhere. While they were waiting the vent on the ceiling opened, the mess of wires that was Lilith falling out of it. The abomination wrapped herself on a chair, placing her head on the table, much to everyone's displeasure.

"What's taking so long?" Lilith inquired, drawling her words.

"We don't know. Amy, go check where is the bear" Mitsuhiko requested, Kobayashi frowning at the order. Muttering to himself the illusionist stood up and went outside the door, opening them and walking outside. He had barely left the commanders' eyesight when he paled and ran back inside. "They are coming!"

"Monobear?"

"N-No! It's _them_!"

Before anyone could ask for clarification the doors burst open, two people entering and sitting on the furthest end of the table. Less than a minute later a third member went in, blood on their clothes and clutching something none of the commanders distinguished what it was. The commanders stayed silent, not sure what to say to those who had arrived.

It was quite obvious those were the Main Board.

The three of them were using Monobear masks identical to the ones Fukuyama had used. Although their codenames were widely known, their faces and identities were mostly unknown, despite Veritas' strong loyalty policies in the past some Main Board members had gone paranoid and asked to have their identities protected. None of the commanders could even begin to guess what the names of these people were.

They were dressed exactly the same – thick overcoats and suit pants - forgoing any clothes that could have indicated personalities, identities or any way to distinguish them. Peeking from behind the mask the three of them had pale strawberry blonde hair, undoubtedly wigs, forming large twin tails on the sides of their heads.

"Hello everyone! Thank you for coming to our last stand. Heeeeere we'll now decide which one wins! Our brand of despair oooooor…whatever you guys are representing" a shrill female voice resonated around the Meeting Room.

"They don't have hope or despair. They are empty" the biggest person, clearly a man, said, trying to make his voice have a higher pitch than it had.

"Okay, time out! What are you three doing here?" Romi asked, slack-jawed.

"We're here to save time, of course!" the female said "We know what you are thinking: 'the masterminds are the Main Board! How could they?! It's treason, etc, etc.' So to save time in useless bantering about that here we are"

"Congratulations" the last Main Board member said with a flourish. Somehow they sounded androgynous.

"Instead we'll go straight into the main event: everything else. It is the endgame! Final phase of the contest! Win, and your prize will be your freedom! Lose, and your punishment will be your deaths. It's as simple as that"

"Your objective will be to solve all the mysteries we'll give you. You can't fail not even a single one, or that will count as a loss"

"That is unfair!" Kobayashi protested futilely. The Main Board members snickered derisively, the large man among them leaning on the table.

"Nothing that has happened in this place is fair. What are you going to do about that?"

"We will solve anything you can ask. Right, guys?" the illusionist tried to get everyone to say without hesitation they would, but the rest of the commanders were quite wary of this. The sudden appearance of the Main Board had been a surprise, and none of them was sure of how to react to that.

"Such bravado! Such confidence! How are you not the main character, Kobayashi-kun?" it seemed the woman among the group was the one in charge here. Valkyrie, surely. If that was her then the large was would be Wolfenmaus, and Vieiras would be the androgynous person "The newbie among the group, the cheerful and nervous man who would grow to be stronger than everyone else…and you managed to screw that up!"

"A failure like no other" Vieiras nodded. Kobayashi, blushing profusely, tried to sink in his chair.

"Any other questions? I think somebody is getting impatient" Wolfenmaus looked at Lilith, who seemed to be about to spring from her chair to try to strangle the nearest Main Board member. None of the commanders voiced any questions, so Valkyrie instead deposited an object on the table.

It was a Monobear, sprinkled with blood. Most of the blood was on the paws, and it all seemed awfully fresh. _What is that_ _…_ _?_

"Let's start, then! The final trial! It is starting right now!"

-ooooo-

Mimori had trouble breathing.

She could feel the blood seeping from her wounds, soaking the bandages. Koshimizu had been unable to close the wound, as there had been no materials to do that, and blood transfusions hadn't been an option either. All the bags had been used for the charade Mimori had done earlier.

The journalist sat up, clutching her shoulder and staring at the deep red stains on the bedsheets. She had been bleeding for a while already, that was to be expected, but when Mitsuhiko was going out it seemed Mimori had moved incorrectly, causing the wound to start bleeding much more than before. Mimori could practically feel the blood flowing from her wounds. The bullet wound was the worst one, but the scratches from Lilith's wounds that littered her body didn't help either. "Oh god, oh god…" Mimori murmured, getting off the bed.

As soon as she stepped on the floor her knees buckled. She felt extraordinarily weak, she had lost too much blood already. Staying outside on the roof for so long, in middle of the cold air and with an open wound untreated hadn't been good for her. Mimori crawled to the door of the Infirmary, managing to open it by pushing it open. As soon as she did that she advanced a couple feet before falling heavily on her chest. "H-Help! Someone, help…!" Mimori tried to shout, but her voice sounded much weaker than it should have been "Someone…!"

It seemed to have been good, though. Steps resonated through the hallway. Mimori sighed in relief, waiting for the person to arrive. It didn't take long for the person to show themselves. Mimori's expression froze, slowly curling in disillusionment. She recognized who it was. There was something about her that made her unmistakable despite the mask. "Valkyrie…"

"Hello, Kyrie" Valkyrie said with what sounded like disappointment "Look at yourself. How low you have fallen"

Mimori's fists clenched. "…help…"

Valkyrie didn't reply to that, instead taking the object she had been carrying. It was an inactive Monobear. Methodically and without hesitation, Valkyrie pressed the bear's paws, all four, onto the blood on the floor. She didn't stop until the paws were dirty with the blood, and even applied some small stains onto other varied parts of the bear. "What are you doing…?" Mimori asked. She didn't understand what was happening.

"I'm taking advantage of your death, of course! You were supposed to die much earlier, when Hikari-kun shot you, but you managed to survive until now. Good thing I'm good at improvising" Valkyrie said, examining the stained Monobear she had just created. Once she was done she left the bear aside and gently lifted Mimori from the floor, placing her on the bed. Valkyrie seemed strangely gentle. "Stop making a mess here. Nobody is going to clean it"

Mimori had no words to that, Valkyrie leaving immediately with the bloody Monobear. Mimori tried to sit up but her arms trembled, she just had no energy for that. She closed her eyes, exceedingly tired. "I am…sorry…" she muttered before letting herself fall unconscious.

Ten minutes later Kyrie Mimori passed away.


	42. Chapter 6: Endless Pit of Despair - Trial I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's endgame time.

For a moment it was as if most of the commanders hadn't died during the last week and half. Nine chairs were occupied, and the room felt tense and ready to turn into a serious discussion at any time. Mitsuhiko was practically ready to jump and start accusing the Main Board of everything they could think, but that would be a bad idea.

The Main Board had everything under their control.

The first priority would be to find out how much leeway they had. The hunter could feel the Main Board's stares, as if they knew he was the one calling the shots here. Mitsuhiko hated to admit they would be right. "So…what's up?" Kobayashi said hesitantly, staring at the wall in front of him. He was very intimidated by the Main Board's presence.

"Now we start the endgame" Vieiras said "Let's lay the ground rules: you'll be given four mysteries, and you will have to reach a satisfying conclusion for them"

"Fail any of them and it'll be as if you failed everything. There'll be executions!" Valkyrie proclaimed.

"You'll be given one single chance. Once you give an answer you won't be able to try again. Your first task will be answering this:

Who killed Veritas?"

That question was one every surviving commander expected to hear. That matter had been a trap to get them all to die, after all. "One of you three did" Romi affirmed.

"Is that so?" Wolfenmaus modified his voice so it sounded more similar to Monobear's for a moment "That is too vague, Romi-san! Or would you like that to be the answer your group will give now?"

"No!" Koshimizu bellowed immediately "Let's think this through. Think back to the evidence we found. Does any of that hint which one could have done it?"

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Soot Footprints / Bullet in the Floor / Shoulder Bullet Wound / Cloak / Bullets in the Body_

* * *

KOBAYASHI: We know none of us killed him.

KOBAYASHI: They tried to use the announcement to deceive us.

VIEIRAS: To do that we'd **need to be in the Fourth Floor**

WOLFENMAUS: Didn't you guys say…

WOLFENMAUS: … ** _the cameras_** were necessary for this?

WOLFENMAUS: The Security Room is **the only way** to watch through them.

VIEIRAS: I admit I **modified the body with Monobear**

MITSUHIKO: Why to admit that?

VIEIRAS: Take a guess.

WOLFENMAUS: Don't pay attention to them.

KOSHIMIZU: Monobear **modified the body** , but…

KOSHIMIZU: …are we sure that is all it did?

KOSHIMIZU: Is there no way for them to…

KOSHIMIZU: …have used **the bear as the murder weapon**?

LILITH: That'd make it impossible to know who did it.

LILITH: All of them are capable of **controlling Monobear**

* * *

"If we believe Monobear is the real weapon used to kill Veritas then we're screwed" Mitsuhiko asserted "Look, I'm sure Veritas was shot to death. Monobear can't have done that"

"It'd be good if we had something to prove it"

"…we kind of do? The mortal wounds couldn't have been done by Monobear, if that's worries you. Remember the one on the shoulder, it had a certain characteristic that shows how it was done"

"The smaller holes!" Hasegawa exclaimed "Monobear's claws had left three holes in a row, two smaller than one! If Monobear had made the rest of the wound and inserted bullets to confuse us Veritas would be full of small holes"

"That makes sense to me" Lilith approved "But does this really matter? Did any of you believe Monobear could have been the weapon?"

Valkyrie sighed "Pitiful. I'll give you a little favor here, everyone: Veritas was shot to death"

"Can we trust her words?" Romi whispered to Hasegawa, who just shrugged. It wasn't like there were many options. To avoid getting lost in a circular discussion of what could have killed Veritas the commanders decided to just suppose the bullets really had killed him.

"But there's something we need to be careful about" Hasegawa said "Did the Main Board have access to the gun that killed Veritas?"

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Lilith_ _'_ _s Wires / Prototype Enoshima AI / Twin Beretta M6 / Hostage Video / Mimori_ _'_ _s Testimony_

* * *

MITSUHIKO: There were lots of weapons in the Fourth Floor

MITSUHIKO: Of course they did!

KOBAYASHI: The b-bullets were from a **_Twin Beretta M6_** …

HASEGAWA: That's what Hikari-kun had said

HASEGAWA: But we can't be completely sure about it.

KOSHIMIZU: Do you doubt Hikari-kun's words?

MITSUHIKO: …no, she is right.

MITSUHIKO: **I can** **'** **t prove it** without reasonable doubt.

ROMI: There also was **_another gun._**

KOSHIMIZU: I had it with me **all the time.**

KOSHIMIZU: But there could be **_a copy of that one_**.

KOBAYASHI: It could all have been done by…

KOBAYASHI: … ** _a gun we haven_** ** _'_** ** _t ever seen_**.

LILITH: Aren't you guys overthinking this all?

* * *

"No, I'm completely sure a Twin Beretta like mine was used" Mitsuhiko took his gun out after making sure it didn't have any bullets in case anyone in the Main Board grabbed it to try to kill them all.

"Hey, Hikari-kun. I don't mean to say they don't trust you, but you can't be sure just by looking at the bullets" Vieiras drawled. It seemed they would have preferred to be anywhere else.

"In hindsight we should have doubted it in the last trial" Koshimizu commented. Before the actual trial could devolve into a circus Mitsuhiko pounded the table, shutting up everyone.

"Enough! Look, these guns come in sets of two. Hasegawa-san gave me one, so where is the other? It's in the Fourth Floor! I'm sure I saw it there once"

"So it's settled! The Main Board had the means and the opportunity" Hasegawa affirmed.

"We killed him in Oyama-san's bedroom. That's something any of us of could have done. Face it, nothing about the gun point towards any of us" Wolfenmaus pointed, his voice oozed smugness. He clearly enjoyed to see everyone trying to find a good direction to argue about.

"How about you focus on a single part of the murder?" Valkyrie suggested. Mitsuhiko raised his eyebrows.

"You are telling us what to do. Are you that confident the killer won't be caught?"

"I am! I'm sure all bases were covered and there's no evidence pointing towards any of us. You'll run out of time before you reach a correct conclusion"

"There is a time limit?" Wolfenmaus whispered.

Valkyrie imitated Monobear's voice, taking the bloody bear in her hands. "There is now! You guys have fifteen minutes more to reach an answer. The clock is ticking!"

"Focus, guys! Think about a single part of the murder: anything that could happen before it, during it or after it" Lilith told the commanders. _She is right. If we look at the whole picture, we won_ _'_ _t get anywhere. We need to find something out, and fast. There_ _'_ _s time only for one discussion. What will it be about?_

* * *

_Before the murder_

_During the murder_

_After the murder_

* * *

**_After the murder_ **

* * *

"Let's talk about what happened after Veritas was killed" the hunter said.

"I suppose it's my turn to play" Vieiras cracked their knuckles, standing up and pacing around the Meeting Room. There was silence for a minute, the commanders suspected they were trying to stall so they would run out of time. Just before anyone protested Vieiras spoke:

"I'll let you all know it's possible for Monobear to do everything that happened after the murder"

"You have got to be kidding!"

"Believe what you want. Give instructions to Mimori-san? That can be done. Modify the wounds? No problem. Hide any evidence? Sure! There's nothing the real killer had to do in person"

"It would also mean the killer doesn't have to be the same person controlling Monobear" Koshimizu mused "Careful, they are trying to confuse us"

"Get to the point, Vieiras" Romi growled. Vieiras stopped, looking at the bloody bear on the table.

"My point is that we used Monobear to do almost everything after Veritas died. That is it"

Mitsuhiko took a moment to remember the sequence of events after Veritas' death. Vieiras had intervened for some reason, the hunter could only suppose he had unwittingly stepped closer to the truth. Maybe the Main Board suspected it hadn't all been as perfect as they thought? Could they have left a clue that pointed towards any of them?

"Mimori-san could have done everything Monobear couldn't do" Lilith said "She was their accomplice"

"Can we go and ask her?" Romi requested. Of course, the Main Board denied the request. Nobody was going to leave the Meeting Room.

"Mimori-san is in no condition to answer questions. Let's not bother her" Valkyrie said with a wry smile.

"What is that sup-"

"I got it!" Mitsuhiko shouted. There really was an opening in the actions taken after Veritas died "Monobear can't have done everything. I see it now!"

"Are you sure? You can't get anything wrong. There's no time" Vieiras said slowly, Mitsuhiko interpreted it as an attempt to dissuade him from continuing. This was encourating!

"I know what I'm doing. I get it now!"

**YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU** **'** **RE DOING**

"If you are so sure then I'll do it. Let's cross swords!"

"Uuuh…" Mitsuhiko hesitated for a second. Vieiras seemed pretty enthusiastic about arguing with Mitsuhiko. Vieiras twirled in their fingers strands of their blonde wig, waiting for the hunter to back off. Once Mitsuhiko nodded they chuckled.

"Perfect. There's no backing off now. Get ready!" _I know I have a clue here. Well more like an object related to the point I want to make. I_ _'_ _ll have to show it at the right moment and work from there!_

* * *

**Rebuttal Showdown**

* * *

_Body Discovery Announcement / Cloak / Soot Footprints / Bullets in the Body / Monobear File #5_

* * *

VIEIRAS: Monobear is a versatile machine!

VIEIRAS: And the three of us have skills directing it

VIEIRAS: Its dexterity is second to none.

VIEIRAS: And it has the strength of several men!

VIEIRAS: Anything you can think could be done with Monobear

VIEIRAS: And nothing will ever point towards any of us

VIEIRAS: Do you get it yet?

MITSUHIKO: It can't do everything

MITSUHIKO: There must be something only a human could have done.

VIEIRAS: If you say then please, tell me.

VIEIRAS: Remember everything.

VIEIRAS: Do you think it was **getting rid of the gun**?

VIEIRAS: **Talking to Mimori-san**?

VIEIRAS: **Moving the body** to the Cafeteria?

VIEIRAS: **Modifying the wounds?**

VIEIRAS: **Frame you?**

VIEIRAS: All that happened, and it was all done from the Fourth Floor

VIEIRAS: Monobear is the perfect tool!

* * *

"No matter how much you say it not everything could be done through Monobear" Mitsuhiko stated. The mask covering Vieiras' face hid whatever expression they could be making, but the way they tensed seemed to indicate dread. This gave Mitsuhiko confidence "There's one single action that Monobear had no way to do"

"What is it?" Vieiras asked.

"Carrying the body, of course! Monobear doesn't have enough strength for that"

"We could show that right now. One of us could go to the Fourth Floor and control this bear. We'll demonstrate it" Valkyrie sounded very sure about it. Fearing this could lead to his theory getting destroyed, Mitsuhiko deviated the topic slightly.

"It isn't a matter of just carrying the body. Even if Monobear is able to, it'd be quite difficult for the bear to do it because it wasn't just carrying the body. Don't forget it had to be wrapped with the cloak to avoid blood spilling on the halls.

Do you all seriously think Monobear would be able to carry a body wrapped on a cloak?"

"…it sounds very difficult" Kobayashi said "I could imagine the bear dragging the body, but-"

"No, there would be marks on the floor" Wolfenmaus admitted begrudgingly. Unlike Vieiras and Valkyrie, Wolfenmaus did know when it was futile to argue.

"Oh, right. And Monobear couldn't hold that body over his head, right? Or maybe he could, but not while it was wrapped in the cloak. The body would fall several times; I think"

Mitsuhiko nodded. Yes, that was what he was aiming at. "Exactly. Now you see why I say Monobear can't have done it? Only a person could have carried the body to the Cafeteria. The culprit did it!"

"…uuuh…are you sure about that?"

Mitsuhiko glared at Kobayashi. What was the illusionist spouting now? "Why wouldn't I be sure?"

"Because…couldn't Mimori-san have carried the body?"

"That is a good point!" Wolfenmaus hurried to approve "I won't say if it is right or wrong, but it is indeed a possibility you must consider. What do you say, everyone?"

"It isn't true. Mimori-san didn't do it" Lilith declared.

"Then who did? You talk as if you were there when the body was placed in the Cafeteria" Vieiras stopped behind Lilith's seat. The wire abomination seemed to be about to spring and try to strangle Vieiras, so they went away quickly.

"Okay, I didn't see it. When I laid my trap with my wires the body was already there"

"There you go! You can't argue Mimori-san didn't place it there"

Mitsuhiko clenched his fists. This wasn't going well at all. If it was decided Mimori was the one to place the corpse in the Cafeteria before the duel happened, then it was all over. Mitsuhiko's logic train relied on the possibility the culprit had been the one to leave the body in the Cafeteria. If that was wrong, then…they may as well lie down and wait for the Main Board to kill them. _Come on, there must be a way to prove Mimori-san didn_ _'_ _t do that. But how?_

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Cloak / Veritas_ _'_ _Shoes / Body Discovery Announcement / Bullets in the Floor / Ventilation Shaft_

* * *

WOLFENMAUS: Mimori-san took the body to the Cafeteria

WOLFENMAUS: Then she **returned to the point** where she fought Hikari-kun

WOLFENMAUS: It's that simple

VIEIRAS: There were soot footprints going to the opposite of the Kitchen

VIEIRAS: Weren't there?

KOBAYASHI: I didn't pay attention to that

WOLFENMAUS: There were. Also…

WOLFENMAUS: Mimori-san took the cloak **after leaving the corpse** there.

WOLFENMAUS: Finally, the duel happened

WOLFENMAUS: And Mimori-san was dragged away by Lilith

WOLFENMAUS: Any questions?

HASEGAWA: I can't see any flaws!

HASEGAWA: Mimori-san must have **seen the body.**

LILITH: Is this it? Are you guys giving up?

LILITH: Will I have to take this all in my own hands?

* * *

"Wait a second…" Mitsuhiko said. Maybe there was a chance here! It was a long shot, but if he managed to convince the rest of the commanders maybe it would work "I think I can prove Mimori-san didn't carry the body. In fact…

…she didn't even _see_ it!"

"See it? What do you mean?" Vieiras tilted their head like Monobear used to do.

"Everyone remember what happens when one sees a body. The masterminds count until three people who aren't the culprit see it, and then an announcement happens. Now remember this: the announcement in this case sounded after Kobayashi-kun, Koshimizu-san and Romi-san arrived to the scene. They didn't do it when I was there because they were trying to make me look like the culprit, but tell me: why they wouldn't include _Mimori-san_ among the three?"

The Main Board froze. They really hadn't thought of that detail. "They were cheating with the announcement, either way. Couldn't it have been part of their lie?" Romi asked, not fully convinced by Mitsuhiko's argument. The hunter hurried to continue.

"I doubt it. If that had been their plan then I think they would have brought it up sooner as proof. It'd be quite strong evidence! But they stayed silent. Why would they?"

"Because if they had done the announcement like you say then that would make you look innocent" Koshimizu pointed "Think about it. It'd look like you, me and Kobayashi-kun activated the announcement, and that would ruin their plan to frame you"

"…oh" Mitsuhiko winced. That had been something he hadn't considered. What a huge blunder! This was no time for that, how could he be so careless?!

"Exactly" Valkyrie nodded. Everyone was sure she was grinning widely under her mask "Well done, Koshimizu-san! You completely destroyed his logic!"

"...I did" Koshimizu seemed disappointed. He clearly had a lot of faith Mitsuhiko would reach a good conclusion. _Damn it, damn it! This is bad. We can_ _'_ _t prove Mimori-san didn_ _'_ _t place the body in the Cafeteria. What can we do now?!_

"I don't think Valkyrie and Vieiras would have enough strength to carry the body" the hunter said "If we can narrow down who can and who can't then we should be able to find out something favorable for us"

"Is that so? Then let's give it a try" Vieiras approached Koshimizu "Koshimizu-san, you are the one closest to Veritas in weight. Please stand up and come over here" the medic, not seeing any other option than complying, approached Vieiras and the other members of the Main Board "Now stay still and don't move at all. No cheating by trying to make yourself be heavier, either" Vieiras warned.

They grabbed Koshimizu and managed to lift him despite the difference in size. However, it seemed Koshimizu was a tad too heavy. While Vieiras was able to walk, the way their legs trembled while walking showed it would be quite a miracle for them to not to need to rest at some point. "I think he wouldn't be able to carry the body all the way to the Cafeteria" Koshimizu said while he was being left on the floor.

"I don't know; I don't think we can ignore the possibility they could have done that" Romi said.

"I'm next" Valkyrie said, immediately taking Koshimizu and lifting him in the air. She walked around the room, carrying Koshimizu with ease.

"Wow, she's much stronger than she looks" the medic commented.

"I had thought Wolfenmaus would be the only suspect, not that the other two would be able to do it too" Mitsuhiko said with dismay. Valkyrie turned her head around to look at the hunter, he suspected she was smirking under that mask. She left Koshimizu on the floor and instructed Wolfenmaus to do the same she did.

Wolfenmaus, as everyone expected, lugged Koshimizu as if he were a sack of potatoes, not even having to stop to rest. Even though Koshimizu and Wolfenmaus were of the same size, he had no problem carrying the older adult. "I didn't expect anything different from him" Lilith commented.

"So you found nothing useful at all? This was a waste of time" Vieiras had returned to their seat for the moment, leaning on their hand in a bored gesture "Speaking of time, how much time do they have left, Wolfenmaus?"

"I think they have around five minutes leeeeeeft" Wolfenmaus purred. The commanders glared at him.

"We should change our way to think. Come on, everyone!" Mitsuhiko tried to encourage the others, but they seemed quite disheartened.

"But what? What can we discuss now?" Kobayashi was grabbing his head, despairing already. The Main Board had their attention on him, as if they were greatly enjoying it.

"If we can't prove Mimori-san didn't carry the body then why don't we look for more people who could have done it? Have more than one suspect, that is fine" Hasegawa suggested.

"That is not a bad suggestion. Think about it, if we find someone else could have done it – for example, someone from the Main Board – we would be more likely to suspect them than Mimori-san" Romi supported Hasegawa's idea "We don't even have to abandon the possibility the killer was the one to place the body there"

"Yes…yes, that is what we will do now" Mitsuhiko cheered up. Of course, they couldn't let themselves be stopped by that obstacle! If they somehow managed to prove one of the Main Board could have done it their chances of getting the killer would increase. The problem was doing it in five or four minutes. There was no time for prolonged discussions.

"Maybe there's something only the killer could have done" Kobayashi said "Or evidence they accidentally left"

"It's likely they cleaned whatever they could have left. I wouldn't place my hopes on that" Hasegawa said.

"Heeeey, have you guys forgotten everything you found? Did any of you find something strange or what?" Valkyrie said sweetly, then brought her hands to her face in a false gesture of surprise "Oh, wait! You examined all those places and found nothing! That's too bad, eh?"

"And if we left something I'm sure you wouldn't distinguish it from everything else" Vieiras added, looking at their wristwatch "Three minutes and half left!"

"Think back to the evidence. Did something look weird, or look like it didn't belong there? I don't remember seeing anything strange!" Kobayashi was extremely worried, judging by the way he was sweating.

"There was nothing strange"

"Shut up, you're spurring them too much" Wolfenmaus scolded Vieiras. Vieiras crossed their arms but obeyed, resigning themselves to just stare at the commanders.

"Remember the evidence: the bullets, the cloak, the footprints, the soot…something must be of use to us. I can't see how, but surely one of us will be able to think of something" Koshimizu seemed to be having a hard time staying calm. Although his voice sounded firm, he was pale and his hands were starting to shake.

"You haven't spoken about bullets yet" Lilith suggested. Slowly, her wires started to lengthen until they reached the ventilation grate nearest to her, on the floor. She was getting ready to take action if the commanders failed.

"But there's nothing to talk about the bullets!"

"Is there nothing we can do?" Mitsuhiko grabbed his own hair "There was nothing in the crime scenes! Nothing at all! They must have cleaned up whatever clue they could have left. That's how they-" the hunter froze. They were looking at this wrongly. Maybe it wasn't a matter of what clues the Main Board got rid of.

Maybe they should focus on what they may not have gotten rid of, for one reason or another. There was one single thing Mitsuhiko could think of: the very same clue that had saved him one trial ago. "Guys, I think I got it"

"What? Are you serious?" Vieiras sounded legitimately surprised.

"Say it now! We don't have much time left" Hasegawa hurried. The hunter nodded and stood up, going towards the Main Board.

"You think you took care of everything, but there's something you may have missed"

"That is impossible!" Valkyrie shouted.

"You know you have pretty much one chance, do you? If you end being wrong there'll be no time to discuss anything else" Vieiras reminded him "Are you going to shoulder the life of all the surviving commanders?"

Mitsuhiko hesitated for a moment, but there was no time for that. "I have to. It isn't like there's any other option" he replied. Vieiras pointed at Mitsuhiko.

"Moron! You don't know what you're doing!"

"He is bluffing. There's no way we missed something…" Valkyrie murmured. Wolfenmaus seemed to be calmer than them, looking at Mitsuhiko with his arms crossed.

"No, I'm sure of this. The culprit is the person who-"

"I said you're bluffing!" Valkyrie shouted, standing up. Mitsuhiko stepped back, taken aback by the vehement interruption, but quickly realized she was stalling for time. There were only two minutes left, after all. Not wanting to let that happen, Mitsuhiko approached and looked straight at Valkyrie's eyes through the mask.

"I'm not bluffing. I'll tell you exactly what I'm looking for" _Here is my last stand!_

* * *

**Panic Talk Battle**

* * *

VALKYRIE: We got rid of everything!

VALKYRIE: You're running out of time

VALKYRIE: Could this be your despair?

VALKYRIE: Look at yourself! Amazing!

VALKYRIE: You are desperate!

VALKYRIE: Hahahaha

VALKYRIE: Is this for real?

VALKYRIE: Show me what you got!

VALKYRIE: It's nothing, is it?

VALKYRIE: That was aaaall a bluff!

* * *

**There** **'** **s no evidence left. You have nothing!**

* * *

_Soles Covered in Soot_

* * *

There was no time to waste. "Hey, you three. Give me your shoes" Mitsuhiko requested.

"What? What does our shoes have to do with anything?!" Valkyrie shouted, stepping back.

"You'll see once you give them to me. Now!"

"We have no obligation to follow any order you-" Vieiras started saying but was interrupted when Wolfenmaus took off his shoes. Without a word he left them on the table. Mitsuhiko, taking one, turned around and examined the sole. There it was, the proof he was looking for.

The soles had a lot of soot. "Here it is. It's exactly the same thing that was a big deal in the other trial; the soot footprints. It was all still fresh. The corpse was moved from Yurie's room to the Cafeteria, and to do that the culprit had to walk through the hallway where the fire happened.

Wolfenmaus at some point today walked into that hallway…"

"…even though we said we all stayed in the Fourth Floor" Wolfenmaus completed. He was pretty calm, passing his hands through his wig with abandon "That is what you were going to say"

"You idiot! Why did you give him your shoes?! We were so close to the end!" Valkyrie yelled, grabbing Wolfenmaus and practically shoving him onto a chair.

"Look at yourselves, still kicking and trying to fight it! Are you two going to say you are me? That is embarrassing!" Wolfenmaus chuckled. His voice was starting to sound shrill "Don't you get it? I lost! I have been found out, all that was needed was those shoes! It is over for me! Hahaha…it is over! Over over over over over!" Wolfenmaus laughed louder and louder, not caring how Valkyrie was shaking him. His voice took almost orgasmic intonations, somehow "Aaaaah, I can feel it! Look at yourselves! How can't you feel it right now? Oooh, maybe I should have left one of you give the evidence. Maybe that way you'd be gripped by the same despair I'm feeling right now!" More laughing.

The commanders could only watch while Valkyrie continued shaking Wolfenmaus, how he continued shrieking about how Valkyrie and Vieiras couldn't feel what he was feeling, and Vieiras pacing around like a headless chicken. "…I think this has lost all sense of self-control this could have" the hunter murmured.

"They are _insane_. Nobody in their right mind would be like this" Lilith commented, taken aback by the Main Board's frantic behaviors.

"I feel dirty just from watching…"

The Main Board's antics lasted for a few minutes more while the rest sat around in highly uncomfortable silence. Once Valkyrie had calmed down enough to not to try to throttle Wolfenmaus she fixed her wig and stood up, trying to take back the reins of the situation. "Okay, let's get this over with. Round One: Veritas' murder. We'll proceed with the voting"

"Are you three going to vote too?" Koshimizu asked with indifference. He fully expected them to overtake the voting phase too.

"Of course we won't. If you five are going to die then you'll die by your own choice. We'll start from the right, as always. Romi-san, your vote, please"

One by one the surviving commanders stated it: Wolfenmaus was the culprit. None of the Main Board showed any reaction until all the votes were tallied. Once it was done Vieiras sighed loudly.

"Yes, you got it right. Wolfenmaus is the culprit. Congratulations, Round One was cleared in your favor" There was a moment of celebration before Vieiras continued "There's a lot left to discuss. Round Two will be about the people who summoned you all to this place.

Your objective will be to not only reveal who among you were responsible for this, but also the motives and what Sasuga-kun and his partners' original plan was. We don't have all the answers, but if nothing is answered satisfactorily then it'll be a loss.

Any questions? No? Then let's do it"

It wasn't like refusing to play was an option.


	43. Chapter 6: Endless Pit of Despair - Trial II

Mitsuhiko took a moment to organize his thoughts. It was time to forget all evidence regarding Veritas' murder. Forgetting those clues would allow him to keep in mind what was important, all those details that had been found during this day.

"Okay, let's repeat what we know already: first than all, it was the work of three different people" Koshimizu said.

"Hasegawa-san is one, Sasuga-kun was the second…who could be the third one?" Kobayashi looked around "Could it be someone in this room?"

"I'm not sure if it is right, but I think it was once said the third person is dead" Vieiras said. All the commanders and Lilith turned their heads to look at Vieiras in surprise.

"Why are you joining the discussion?" Koshimizu demanded to know. Vieiras crossed their arms and shrugged.

"As we said, we don't have the answers. We'll try to find out the truth, but we'll also hold the right to retaliate against those who thought they could plan this stuff right under their noses"

"Which means you're the only one in this room who is guaranteed to die, Hasegawa-san" Valkyrie said coldly "Even if my partners and I are executed, I promise you we'll kill you before we die" Hasegawa hid her eyes with her cap, grimacing. So she was doomed no matter what. That was not encouraging at all.

"Uh, why don't you tell us everything you know, Hasegawa-san?" Kobayashi asked. The false courier peeked from under her cap, her eyes fixated on Lilith.

"I want to talk, I really do, but…" she left her cap aside "Lilith, can I…"

Lilith shifted awkwardly in her seat. When she spoke she avoided everyone's gazes. "My AI was programmed to have a certain measure of free will, but there are directives I can't defy. Third Directive: ensure my creator's partners don't reveal any information regarding their activities without my creator's authorization"

"But it is vital for our survival to reveal it! We won't be able to deal with the masterminds if I don't say this information!"

"I know! Believe me, I want to, but…I can't. I literally can't. If you start talking I don't think you'll survive further than a few seconds" As if she could feel Hasegawa's wish to speak Lilith slowly crawled onto the table "Don't talk"

"Then what can we do?"

"Find out by yourselves. My directives won't stop anyone from finding out. I'm not sure if my creator thought nobody would be able to deduce anything, or if he did it intentionally, but that is how it goes. Hasegawa-san, I think you can join the discussion but be careful with what you say" Lilith warned. Mitsuhiko heard scraping from under the floor, he supposed some of Lilith's wires were slithering towards Hasegawa in preparation to anything she could say.

"Before we start I think we should keep in mind a few clues" Romi suggested "For example…"

**Whittling Knife**

_A small and sharp knife usually used for carving wood. It ' s the blade that caused the wound on Mitsuishi ' s stomach. Hasegawa wielded it._

**Chemistry Laboratory**

_Someone_ _–_ _Hasegawa, most likely - used the laboratory to try to extract the poison from the hemlock._

**Hemlock**

_Hasegawa used hemlock to attempt to murder the commanders._

**Poisoned Commanders**

_Hasegawa_ _'_ _s hemlock affected seven commanders: Sasuga, Romi, Mitsuishi, Kobayashi, Kishio, Yurie and Koshimizu._

"But all that is from the third case" Mitsuhiko said. Romi nodded, staring at her hands.

"I know it is, but remember that was the moment Hasegawa-san snapped and tried to murder as many people as she could. It wouldn't hurt to remember details from that case"

"…I wish it didn't have to be brought up again" Hasegawa muttered. At least she had the decency to look regretful.

"Let's start by narrowing down the list of suspects" Wolfenmaus suggested. It was the best point to start, get straight to the point. _I have the most information out of everyone else, I suppose. Let_ _'_ _s give this a try._

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Hasegawa_ _'_ _s Testimony / Buried Bodies / Shackles / Vittoria Delacroix / Mutual Killing Game in the Bunker_

* * *

KOSHIMIZU: We know there are three in total

VALKYRIE: Hasegawa-san was friendly with several people.

VALKYRIE: **_Yasumoto-san_**

VALKYRIE: **_Hikari-kun_**

VALKYRIE: **_Kobayashi-kun_**

VALKYRIE: **_Takayama-kun_**

VALKYRIE: **_Sasuga-kun_**

VALKYRIE: And **_Kishio-san_**

VALKYRIE: Did any of you notice anything related to them?

HASEGAWA: Why do you include Sasuga-kun?

HASEGAWA: Everyone knows he's part of that group already

WOLFENMAUS: It'd still be a lie.

WOLFENMAUS: We need **physical evidence.**

ROMI: …I didn't pay attention. I don't know

* * *

"Hasegawa-san told me something about when our problems here started…" Mitsuhiko started but Vieiras made a condescending gesture, shooshing Mitsuhiko.

"We need physical evidence. Mere testimony won't work"

"There is physical evidence! As I was saying Hasegawa-san told me Sasuga-kun made an automatic lock and put it on the gates. After she entered the gates were closed, and the key…uh…" Mitsuhiko turned his head towards Hasegawa "What happened to the key, again?"

"I told you, our dead partner had it and then it was taken away. Mimori-san said she had done that" Hasegawa reminded him.

"If Mimori-san took it wouldn't she have it with her right now? We could take it and escape" Romi said.

"Nope. You are too late for that" Wolfenmaus replied "Mimori-san gave us the key. We didn't know it was going to be for the gates, but it makes sense"

"That settles it. If Sasuga-kun made that lock, then he was undeniably involved in all this. We don't need to fear he's some kind of red herring" Vieiras sounded pretty satisfied. The false courier snorted, greatly amused.

"Guys, seriously, there was never any doubt Sasuga-kun was part of those who called us here. If you wanted physical proof all you had to do was look at the robot mess on that chair over there" she languidly gestured towards Lilith, who merely rolled her head in acknowledgment. Everyone was in silence for a moment, that discussion was senseless.

"…we can be so stupid sometimes…" Romi sighed.

"Nevermind that! There's one person left to find out the identity of. You need to work on that first"

"You said 'dead partner'. That doesn't narrow much the list"

"It would be easier if we knew if that person was a victim or a culprit. Tell us that, at least" Valkyrie requested. Hasegawa, after looking at Lilith for a moment, talked slowly, ready to stop as soon as Lilith made any movement.

"…it was a victim. That'll narrow it more"

"That was vague enough for me to not to hold it against you" Lilith assured her.

"Okay, so it could be Yasumoto-san, Takayama-kun, Mitsuishi-kun, Kishio-san or Oyama-san. One of those five is the third person" Vieiras summarized. Round Two was going much smoothly than anyone could have suspected, maybe because the Main Board were interested in getting answers too. It didn't really matter that much. Now the thing to focus on was to focus on a potential suspect here. _Five options, and only one can be correct_ _…_ _there must be a way to narrow it down even more. I have a suspicion myself, but I_ _'_ _m not completely sure about it yet. I have Hasegawa_ _'_ _s own testimony from today, but that is not cold hard evidence. Maybe there_ _'_ _s something else I could use?_

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Hasegawa_ _'_ _s Testimony / Ventilation System / Shackles / Code 1774 / Hemlock_

* * *

LILITH: I can't confirm or deny what Hasegawa-san says

VALKYRIE: We didn't expect you to do it

VALKYRIE: How long ago did that person die, Hasegawa-san?

HASEGAWA: It was-

LILITH: Stop

WOLFENMAUS: There are **only five possibilities**

WOLFENMAUS: If we had a way to **_narrow that further_** …

VIEIRAS: We should remember the victims' actions

KOSHIMIZU: **Yasumoto-san** didn't have time to do much

KOBAYASHI: **Takayama-kun** worked with Yasumoto-san and Kishio-sensei

WOLFENMAUS: **Mitsuishi-kun** was poisoned, no more than that

ROMI: **Kishio-sensei** was our leader here

VIEIRAS: **Oyama-san** was unfriendly towards almost everyone, all the time

LILITH: This is useless

LILITH: **None of the victims** did anything suspicious!

* * *

Mitsuhiko listened carefully. He could feel there were lots of false leads in the discussion, choosing any of them could lead to a waste of time and to the Main Board losing their patience. If things went bad enough, who knows, maybe he would be blamed for something ludicrous! So after meditating it the hunter decided to aim and take an alternate route:

"Forget about names. We won't get anywhere through that for now"

"Then should we think it may be s-some other person other than the victims?" Kobayashi asked.

"No, that may not be good enough either. In my opinion we should keep our eyes on the evidence. Something in there could help"

"It sounds to me you have soo-oomething in mind already" Valkyrie leaned forward with interest "Enlighten us, Hikari-kun"

"Hasegawa-san tried to kill us by poisoning us with hemlock. It's true Sasuga-kun was poisoned too, and this is unconfirmed, but consider this: would Hasegawa-san had attempted it if both of her partners were alive?"

"She would have. Did you forget _why_ she did it?" _Of course I haven_ _'_ _t. The reason Hasegawa-san tried to kill us all_ _…_

* * *

Lilith's Wires

Shackles

Bloody Room in the Basement

Buried Bodies

Twin Beretta M6

Mimori's Testimony

Ventilation System

Code 1774

Lily's Blueprints

Yasumoto's Testimony

Hasegawa's Testimony

Hostage Video

Commanders' Reports

Mimori's Report

Vittoria Delacroix

Global Monthly Report

Mutual Killing Game in the Bunker

Prototype Enoshima AI

Summoning Letter

Kaiji Kudo/Heiji Hasegawa

The Main Board

Whittling Knife

Chemistry Laboratory

Hemlock

Poisoned Commanders

* * *

**Kaiji Kudo/Heiji Hasegawa**

* * *

"This was her catalyst. Hasegawa-san had tried to kill us all because we were DeeEy commanders, to her eyes responsible for her sister and husband's deaths. What's your point?"

Valkyrie adjusted her mask. "She tried to kill you all out of a desire for revenge. Do you think she would have cared if her two partners had been among you all?"

"I agree with her" Vieiras said "Hasegawa-san was blinded by rage. She wouldn't have cared at all"

All the commanders turned towards Hasegawa, who shrank in her seat. "…I changed my mind long ago, I did the wrong thing by blaming all of you, but I have to admit…by the time I didn't care in the slightest"

"Are you saying both partners were alive by that point?" Koshimizu seemed rattled but tried to keep his tone civil.

"I'm not trying to say anything but the truth. Sorry"

"So we're back to how it was before. Five possible answers and no way to narrow it down any further"

"…maybe we can" Mitsuhiko said. It was going to mean to rely on Hasegawa's words, and therefore it may not be absolute proof and some may not trust it, but it wasn't like they had better options "Earlier today I talked to Hasegawa-san and she slipped something I haven't forgotten yet. She said…"

* * *

_Besides the reason why we had brought you all here was useless by the time I decided to poison you all. With our leader dead, what could have we done? Lily, Sasuga-kun and I weren't enough to continue, this plan was doomed as soon as-_

* * *

Everyone was in silence for a moment. Kobayashi was the one to break it with an exclamation "W-Why didn't you say it s-sooner?!"

"Because I had no evidence other than her words. I thought that wouldn't work very well here, especially with these three major assholes joining the discussion" Mitsuhiko dismissively gestured towards the Main Board.

"…can't blame you for not saying it earlier, then" Wolfenmaus muttered "So this means we're down to only two people: Yasumoto-san and Takayama-kun. Both were working with Kishio-sensei, meaning they had control over everyone else in some way. Which one did it?"

**Hasegawa** **'** **s Testimony II**

_"_ _Besides the reason why we had brought you all here was useless by the time I decided to poison you all. With our leader dead, what could have we done? Lily, Sasuga-kun and I weren't enough to continue, this plan was doomed as soon as-_ _"_

"…waaaait a second..." Kobayashi narrowed his eyes "You guys had said Mimori-san gave you a key. If you k-know that, and you now know a victim had held it…wouldn't you know already who had it before Mimori-san?"

It took a moment for the commanders to realize Kobayashi had a point there. The Main Board froze for a few seconds before devolving into laughter. _God damn it, how couldn_ _'_ _t I realize it_ _…_

"You got us! Of all people Kobayashi-kun caught onto us! We may have been giving everyone else too much credit!" Wolfenmaus roared in laughter, hitting the table.

"Yes, we admit it: we deduced who the last person is some time ago. Now we're just watching you guys struggle while you try to get to the conclusion we got. It's fun in a way" Valkyrie mocked.

"That's why we make trials, because it's fun to see people struggle. It has been entertaining"

"Why doesn't that surprise me in the slightest…" Mitsuhiko rolled his eyes. They really should have expected the Main Board to be as unhelpful as possible once they got the answer they wanted. They wanted to kill them all, after all. Being helpful wouldn't lead to that once they had their answer.

"But you don't know stuff like motives, do you?" Koshimizu asked.

"…okay, we admit we don't know the motive part yet. So for now we'll just sit and watch your discussions. Have fun" Vieiras waved and relaxed. The commanders seethed in annoyance for a moment before returning back to the debate, this was no time to let themselves be bothered by the Main Board.

"Where were we? So, which one between Takayama-kun and Yasumoto-san is the third person?"

"Any hints, Hasegawa-san?" Kobayashi asked. The false courier looked at Lilith for a moment shook her head "Figures. What do you say, Hikari-kun?"

"Hmmmm…there is a detail that jumps out to me from long ago. It is not undeniable proof, but since we don't have anything else we may as well use it"

* * *

Lilith's Wires

Shackles

Bloody Room in the Basement

Buried Bodies

Twin Beretta M6

Mimori's Testimony

Ventilation System

Code 1774

Lily's Blueprints

Yasumoto's Testimony

Hasegawa's Testimony

Hostage Video

Commanders' Reports

Mimori's Report

Vittoria Delacroix

Global Monthly Report

Mutual Killing Game in the Bunker

Prototype Enoshima AI

Summoning Letter

Kaiji Kudo/Heiji Hasegawa

The Main Board

Whittling Knife

Chemistry Laboratory

Hemlock

Poisoned Commanders

Hasegawa's Testimony II

* * *

**Yasumoto's Testimony**

* * *

"It was shortly after we got locked in these Headquarters. I'll be honest: I had my suspicions on Yasumoto-san for a long while. That is why I asked Yasumoto-san to help me find out if Hasegawa-san was being honest about being a courier"

"Through clever use of psychology?" Valkyrie sounded demeaning.

"It's more through basic knowledge about subtle hints someone was lying. She grabbed Hasegawa-san's wrist and stared at her face and…yeah, it wasn't very scientific. Hasegawa-san said some stuff:

One was that she was Emiko Tanaka and she was a courier"

"That's obviously a lie!" Romi raised her eyebrows "And you didn't think about it before today, Hikari-kun?"

"Shut up. The second one was that she had been sent to deliver packages and nothing more. Yes, I know that was a complete lie too. And finally, she said she had no relation to the Future Foundation. Once another lie"

"And you say Yasumoto-san covered up for those lies?" Kobayashi tried to confirm. It was the obvious conclusion, but it didn't hurt to make sure he was getting this right.

"Exactly"

"Couldn't she just have been wrong? It didn't sound to me like a very effective way to know if someone is lying" Vieiras intervened. Everyone ignored them, although Mitsuhiko supposed that could be a clue they were getting closer to the truth the Main Board had reached.

"No, I think that would mean she was lying. And what reason would Yasumoto-san have to lie?"

"You think it is because she was my creator's partner" Lilith closed her eyes "…I have nothing to say, but I hope whatever answer you reached is the one you're confident with"

"I'm pretty sure Yasumoto-san was the third person"

"Quite unlucky of us to have lost a partner as the first victim" Hasegawa said "Uuuh…is that all, Main Board? I think we reached an answer here"

The Main Board exchanged glances before shaking their heads. It was unsettling to see them moving in unison. "Of course not! You have a name, but it's not over. Let's continue the round! I have a question:

Which of the three was the leader?"

"The leader?" Wolfenmaus tilted his head "Isn't that question too easy?"

"Who cares?"

"We will answer that question too" Mitsuhiko promised, then towards everyone else "What do you guys think? I think it's pretty obvious Sasuga-kun was the leader"

"I agree. He created Lily - or Lilith, whatever you call her – and he made the lock that is keeping us here in the Headquarters. The leader would do all that, wouldn't he?" Romi said.

"…well what's for sure is that Hasegawa-san isn't the leader" Lilith hinted "She's an outside person, a Future Foundation agent. You're looking for someone who has influence in Diavolos Avante"

Mitsuhiko thought for a moment. Lilith's words had made him reconsider something… "…uh, maybe things aren't as clear cut as I thought. Guys, could it be possible Yasumoto-san was the leader?"

"Would the body continue living without the brain?" Wolfenmaus asked slowly, resting his chin on his hands. Once again Mitsuhiko considered that a hint they were in the right track by questioning the notion Sasuga was the leader.

"It would be possible if the body has the necessary directives to continue functioning" Lilith replied. She would know better than the rest about that.

"Lilith is right about that, just because Yasumoto-san died it wouldn't mean the plan was gone…if she was the leader, I mean" Vieiras approved. It seemed the Main Board had caught onto the possibility the commanders could use their words to decide what arguments were likelier to be correct"

"I-I can't think of any clue that could help us here" Kobayashi stammered "Hasegawa-san, can you say anything else?"

"I already said too much" she said "Trust me, I want to say more but I can't" _…_ _that is true_ _…_ _she has said enough already! I_ _'_ _m not on top shape today, I should have seen this before._

"…you know what, Yasumoto-san was the leader. Let's just leave it at that" the hunter said and under the table started to count with his fingers. _Three_ _…_ _two_ _…_ _one_ _…_

**LET** **'** **S DUEL ONCE AGAIN**

"…zero. Fuck" Mitsuhiko muttered, annoyed, and turned his head to look at Vieiras with half-lidded eyes "You love getting in the way, don't you?"

Everyone was sure under that mask Vieiras was smiling widely. "Of course I do. Half of the fun is watching you guys be confused; the other half of the fun is intervening. Let's fight again, Hikari-kun"

"Fine. What will it be now?"

"You sound like there's no reason to discuss your statement. Your confidence is…astounding. Show me how astounding it is, will you?" _That will be no problem. I know I_ _'_ _m right, so_ _…_ _let_ _'_ _s get that over with._

* * *

**Rebuttal Showdown**

* * *

_Shackles / Hostage Video / Poisoned Commanders / Hasegawa_ _'_ _s Testimony II / Twin Beretta M6_

* * *

VIEIRAS: There are two options

VIEIRAS: Yet you have gone straight for one

VIEIRAS: And not only that

VIEIRAS: It sounds like you won't let anyone argue against it

VIEIRAS: You must have a reason to be so confident

VIEIRAS: So tell me what it is!

VIEIRAS: I'm dying to know!

VIEIRAS: And so will you and your friends if it is wrong

VIEIRAS: Minus the knowing part, just so we're clear

MITSUHIKO: Fine. I'll indulge you

MITSUHIKO: What's your point?

VIEIRAS: My point is that you are **100% sure**

VIEIRAS: And you wouldn't be unless you had **definitive evidence**

VIEIRAS: Or is it a **testimony?**

VIEIRAS: Not anything would work. It needs to be clear.

VIEIRAS: We won't allow you to interpret is in any way you want

VIEIRAS: So go ahead! One chance!

* * *

"It's much easier than you think" Mitsuhiko said "It's as Hasegawa-san said: she said a lot already. Among what she said the answer was in plain sight, but none of us noticed it. That was our mistake"

"So it was a testimony from her, after all. Which one?"

"The one I informed you guys about. Remember what she said?"

* * *

_Besides the reason why we had brought you all here was useless by the time I decided to poison you all. With our leader dead, what could have we done? Lily, Sasuga-kun and I weren't enough to continue, this plan was doomed as soon as-_

* * *

"…wow. It really was right there in plain sight" Valkyrie said and clapped slowly "Kudos, everyone. You missed something terribly obvious"

"Keep your trap shut"

"So you think that settles it. Yasumoto-san was actually the leader, you're saying that, but…I don't know…maybe things aren't as straightforward as you think they are" Koshimizu said slowly, as if he expected Mitsuhiko to give a rebuttal in middle of his sentence. Since Mitsuhiko didn't say anything Koshimizu continued "The leader of that group would need to be reasonably powerful among the ranks, beyond a mere commander. Was Yasumoto-san that powerful?"

"I don't think Sasuga-kun was, and obviously Hasegawa-san isn't" Valkyrie responded.

"Don't tell me, we need something like ultimate evidence. That is what you are going to say, won't it?" Romi seemed to be tired already about everything. Surely the Main Board's presence is what made some commanders be much more lackadaisical than normal.

"You guessed right" Vieiras nodded.

"Figures. Let's see…Yasumoto-san would need to be influential, and that would include having access to the Fourth Floor. Not anyone would be able to be up there, not even when Veritas was alive. That group's plan must have been drawn in advance, so…" Lilith seemed to genuinely not know the answer to that, somehow. _That is a bit difficult to prove, but it_ _'_ _s worth a try. Let_ _'_ _s try._

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Lilith_ _'_ _s Wires / Buried Bodies / Mimori_ _'_ _s Testimony / Vittoria Delacroix / Twin Beretta M6_

* * *

ROMI: So we need something that is not recent?

ROMI: **Nothing we found today** , for example?

WOLFENMAUS: You don't have that many options

WOLFENMAUS: Pretty much everything was found today

HASEGAWA: I saw Yasumoto-san only once

HASEGAWA: Most of the contact I had was with Sasuga-kun

VALKYRIE: And he told you nothing, did he?

HASEGAWA: Nothing at all. Yasumoto-san gave me **_the package_**

HASEGAWA: But maybe it was prepared by Sasuga-kun.

VALKYRIE: And **nothing in Veritas** **'** **conversations** …

VALKYRIE: …show she was important in any way, right?

KOBAYASHI: I-I don't think there was anything…

VIEIRAS: Then you are all screwed

VIEIRAS: You played well but it's time to give up

KOSHIMIZU: We're not giving up yet!

* * *

"Let me get this straight: only people with certain privileges would be able to enter the Fourth Floor rooms, right?" Mitsuhiko tried to verify.

"That is right. The Fourth Floor has rooms that are vital for the proper functioning of the Headquarters. Veritas was quite strict about it" Valkyrie confirmed. That was exactly the point Mitsuhiko wanted to have clear, it fit his scenario quite well!

"Right. Tell me, where do you keep the deceased Main Board members' stuff?"

The Main Board seemed to not to understand where Mitsuhiko was going with these questions. "Wherever they lived, obviously, unless something they had officially belongs to Diavolos Avante, in which case we take it back"

"I see. I suppose you'd take back weapons such as guns, right?"

Valkyrie froze. "Yes, that is right…what is your point? What's up with all these questions?"

"The gun!" Romi exclaimed "The gun that was in the package Hasegawa-san gave you the first day we were here! Do you think it belonged to Volkos?"

"I _know_ it belonged to him. Hasegawa-san said it herself" Mitsuhiko dared to smile. Hasegawa had also said Yasumoto had given her the package, connecting the points wasn't difficult at all.

"Anyone could enter the Armory in the Fourth Floor" Valkyrie hurried to try to distract them "That gun may not even have been obtained there! What if Volkos hid it in his house or something like that?"

"You said Veritas was very strict!" Romi protested.

"Yes, but suppose someone snuck in and-"

"Oh, shut up already"

"So I think Yasumoto-san took Volkos' Twin Beretta from the Fourth Floor, and then gave it to Hasegawa-san for the plan they had created. This shows Yasumoto-san had enough status in DeeEy, not just any person would be close enough to the Armory to do that in the first place"

"Makes sense to me, but what kind of plan did they have that relied on you receiving a gun?" Koshimizu asked. Mitsuhiko had no idea about that yet. It was obvious Yasumoto and her pals wouldn't be so careless they would risk treason against Diavolos Avante without having a carefully constructed plan. It may have been ruined but a plan existed, everyone was sure of it.

Vieiras clapped with enthusiasm. "That's precisely the next part of the round: what were those three planning to do? And now that we're touching that topic: why would they summon you all here, lock the gates, bring Lily and create the charade we hijacked?" Their eyes turned to Lilith, who seemed to be trying very hard to hide her head in the long wires that formed her body for the moment. Quite a strange reaction, but... _Hm. Lilith_ _…_ _no, Lily. She was created expressly to be here for a concrete reason. We should start by pinpointing her exact function. Sasuga-kun wouldn_ _'_ _t go through the trouble of creating Lily if she wasn_ _'_ _t an integral part of the plan. I have an inkling of what Yasumoto-san_ _'_ _s reason to do this all was, but what was the plan?_

"Lily, you are the key to this all, aren't you? Sasuga-kun gave you some sort of function. Mind telling us what it is?"

"I can't go into specifics, but I do can remind you my directives" Lilith said from between her coils. She spoke clearly, counting each directive and punctuating each one carefully. It was easy to understand, now the game was to take the correct pieces and use them to solve the puzzle.

**First Directive**

_Lily shall not interfere with Sasuga_ _'_ _s decisions and orders._

**Second Directive**

_Lily shall protect the commanders so no harm comes to them. However, she is forbidden from directly interfering in their free will._

**Third Directive**

_Lily shall ensure none of Sasuga_ _'_ _s partners reveal critical information regarding their identities or purposes without Sasuga_ _'_ _s authorization. The use of lethal force is authorized if it is judged the revelations are imminent._

**Fourth Directive**

_In the unlikely scenario the script goes wrong, Lily will serve as support to Sasuga and his partners until new orders are given._

**Fifth Directive**

_Lily shall not aid any commander in any suspicious activities, including those that could cause the violation of the First Directive._

**Emergency Directive (Code 1774** **–** **update)**

_If Code 1774 is activated a new directive_ _–_ _Last Bastion - shall be followed: ensure the elimination of the Main Board. The lives of the commanders shall remain in consideration, but they shall be cast aside if those lives get in the way of fulfilling this directive. The method used must never be linked to Lilith or to her creator in any way._

"That is a lot of directives" Wolfenmaus commented "And it's unlikely all of them can be used to solve anything here. I like this development. How will you guys deal with so many pieces yet so few questions?"

"We have dealt with it five times already. We can do it again" Koshimizu said with confidence "Now let's see…what matters here is what Lily's role could be in the original plan. If we find out that part, we'll be able to deduce what the original plan was"

"But to find out what Lily's role was maybe we'll need the original plan" Hasegawa said with grave tone "I'll try to dance around the limitations Lilith has imposed on me, and I think the best way to do that will be through the use of clues and insinuations" at least the false courier had finally decided to play a more active role in the trial. Lilith slithered some of her wires over the table towards Hasegawa.

"I see no problem with that, but know about the risks: lethal force is authorized and shall be immediate if you overstep your boundaries" she threatened. Hasegawa swallowed nervously but nodded.

"I'll be careful. Listen everyone! Please remember everything Lily did until the end of the trial for the death of Yasumoto-san. You'll find the answer you need"

_Right. Until the end of that trial_ _…_ _a lot of things happened, but Hasegawa-san says the answer is there. What part could it be?_

* * *

_During their first meeting_

_During their first few days_

_During the investigation_

_During the trial_

* * *

**_During their first meeting_ **

* * *

"Oh. I think I remember something Lily had said the day we arrived here. We were there, sitting in the Meeting Room, when she arrived here. Do you guys remember who she said she was?"

"I was too busy wondering why there was a robot girl standing on the table" Kobayashi mumbled. The rest of the commanders nodded in agreement and Mitsuhiko had to admit that was to be expected. It was weird.

"I do remember she saying something…she said she was going to be the Judge or…something like that" Hasegawa said and recoiled as if she expected Lilith to break her neck immediately. Lilith didn't move, though.

"Yes, she had said that" Vieiras confirmed "Don't you guys remember what happened at the beginning of the first trial?"

"She got turned into our assistant. I think I had the idea of trying to use her as a cup holder" Valkyrie said flippantly. She didn't care how Lilith somehow managed to ruffle her wires and glared at her "Those sure were simpler times, weren't they?"

Hasegawa raised her hand. She needed to intervene before the Main Board directed the discussion into a senseless tangent. The group was getting closer to the answer; Hasegawa could see it. "Something else happened. I remember she had said something more concrete. Let me remi-" Lilith whipped the table with a wire, hitting dangerously close to Hasegawa's seat. The false courier shut up immediately.

She had said enough, though. "I remember! Lily had said something like…"

* * *

_I was supposed to conduct the trial, handling the evidence and leading you all towards the best result possible._

* * *

"Yes, that is why I was called the Judge" Lilith admitted "My role was to do what Monobear was doing, only that instead of sitting and not doing much I'd be more of a moderator"

"Right. It sounds to me trials were supposed to happen no matter what. That worries me" Koshimizu frowned "It's possible Yasumoto-san didn't have the best intentions in mind"

"I don't think we would have been in much trouble" Mitsuhiko said "As long as this existed I don't think trials would have gone like we think it would have"

* * *

Lilith's Wires

Shackles

Bloody Room in the Basement

Buried Bodies

Twin Beretta M6

Mimori's Testimony

Ventilation System

Code 1774

Lily's Blueprints

Yasumoto's Testimony

Hasegawa's Testimony

Hostage Video

Commanders' Reports

Mimori's Report

Vittoria Delacroix

Global Monthly Report

Mutual Killing Game in the Bunker

Prototype Enoshima AI

Summoning Letter

Kaiji Kudo/Heiji Hasegawa

The Main Board

Whittling Knife

Chemistry Laboratory

Hemlock

Poisoned Commanders

Hasegawa's Testimony II

First Directive

Second Directive

Third Directive

Fourth Directive

Fifth Directive

Emergency Directive

* * *

**Second Directive**

* * *

"Lily's Second Directive demands she protects our lives"

"She failed on that regard, and big time" Romi said. While Mitsuhiko agreed he decided this was not the time to throw on Lilith's face her failures. Lilith did take offense from it, though.

"I wasn't allowed to interfere! It's true my directive said to protect you, but my programming points it was more along the lines I wasn't allowed to kill any of you. I think he worded it wrongly"

"Whatever! What matters here is that Lily's Second Directive would have made it impossible for her to kill us. I suppose that would include _executions_ , wouldn't it?"

"In other words, you would have been forced to live with a killer if you caught them" Wolfenmaus said.

"…somehow I don't think that would be what Yasumoto-san would do" Vieiras commented, and Mitsuhiko had to agree with that. Then what was going to happen to the culprit? There was something else going on. _Yasumoto-san must have planned something. What could it be_ _…_ _?_

"I have an idea but I don't know if it is correct" Koshimizu said, crossing his arms "What if the whole thing with Lily being the Judge and there being a trial was no more than a farce?"

"A farce? What do you mean?" Kobayashi inquired.

"Look, what if there was going to be a trial but it was all an illusion? What I'm trying to say is that nobody was actually going to die. If someone pretended to be dead and Lily organized a trial, we would all indict the culprit. If that culprit is one of Yasumoto's partners, then that would fit the script. I think that is the plan Yasumoto created"

"Who would be the victim?" Wolfenmaus demanded to know. Mitsuhiko remembered everyone who could have been the false victim. There weren't really that many options. Someone affiliated with Sasuga, someone who could pretend to be killed and no one would bat an eye…

"I think it's pretty obvious who it would be" the hunter said.

* * *

Mitsuhiko Hikari

Emiko Hasegawa

Mamoru Takayama

Akira Hosoya

Kimiko Sugita

Harumi Kayano

Tetsurou Koshimizu

Chiyo Yasumoto

Sumida Kishio

Kouhei Kobayashi

Daisuke Mitsuishi

Kumakichi Fukuyama

Hiyoko Romi

Kyrie Mimori

Yurie Oyama

Tohya Sasuga

Lilith

Monobear

Wolfenmaus

Valkyrie

Vieiras

* * *

**Emiko Hasegawa**

* * *

"An outsider, someone who coincidentally arrived and none of us has any attachment to…Hasegawa-san would be the most obvious victim choice, wouldn't she?" the hunter looked at Hasegawa, who nodded. They were in the right track!

"And the culprit? What about the culprit?"

"Considering Lily was the Judge and Hasegawa was the victim I think it's to be expected the false culprit would be…"

* * *

Mitsuhiko Hikari

Emiko Hasegawa

Mamoru Takayama

Akira Hosoya

Kimiko Sugita

Harumi Kayano

Tetsurou Koshimizu

Chiyo Yasumoto

Sumida Kishio

Kouhei Kobayashi

Daisuke Mitsuishi

Kumakichi Fukuyama

Hiyoko Romi

Kyrie Mimori

Yurie Oyama

Tohya Sasuga

Lilith

Monobear

Wolfenmaus

Valkyrie

Vieiras

* * *

**Tohya Sasuga**

* * *

"Who better than Sasuga-kun to be the false culprit? Lily wouldn't hurt him. Even if everyone demanded the culprit to be punished he'd be safe thanks to Lily"

"Yes, she could just hide him away and no one would know" Vieiras tilted their head "But tell me this: why would Yasumoto and her partners plan all this? Tell us that. Why all this?"

"W-We know the plan was ruined because the Main Board hijacked it" Kobayashi said "W-We should think what would have happened if the Main Board hadn't been here"

"There would have been a false trial, and after that…I don't think anyone would have been convinced to play along with more false cases. If a single person got told about that and rejected helping then we'd all know what had happened"

"Then it was all slated to end once the first and only trial ended? What was the sense of all this?" Hasegawa tried to orientate them by asking questions, but nobody saw an inkling of sense in Yasumoto's plan. She was a psychologist, the Mind Demon. Everyone guessed what she had thought to do must have been related to psychology, maybe, the problem was to guess what it was"

"Would we be let go, either way? If they summoned us all here to make us go through an experience like a trial I don't think they'd have many qualms about keeping us detained"

"No, I'm sure they would have wanted to liberate us" Mitsuhiko said. _Yasumoto-san had a certain object he_ _'_ _d be able to use once he was out of everyone_ _'_ _s sight. That object_ _…_

* * *

Lilith's Wires

Shackles

Bloody Room in the Basement

Buried Bodies

Twin Beretta M6

Mimori's Testimony

Ventilation System

Code 1774

Lily's Blueprints

Yasumoto's Testimony

Hasegawa's Testimony

Hostage Video

Commanders' Reports

Mimori's Report

Vittoria Delacroix

Global Monthly Report

Mutual Killing Game in the Bunker

Prototype Enoshima AI

Summoning Letter

Kaiji Kudo/Heiji Hasegawa

The Main Board

Whittling Knife

Chemistry Laboratory

Hemlock

Poisoned Commanders

Hasegawa's Testimony II

First Directive

Second Directive

Third Directive

Fourth Directive

Fifth Directive

Emergency Directive

* * *

**Hasegawa's Testimony**

* * *

"Sasuga-kun made the lock for the gates, but remember who had the key: Yasumoto-san did"

"Oh, I see. If the plan had gone like it should have, then Yasumoto-san could have freed us without any of us noticing. She was the victim, none of us would have seen her again" Koshimizu said.

"You would hear later that she was alive. She was a commander in DeeEy, she wouldn't be able to perform her functions while pretending to be dead" Vieiras scoffed "She was a pretty stupid woman"

"Maybe she had planned to quit" Kobayashi replied to that, shrugging "And this was meant to be the last thing she'd do in this place"

"I can sympathize with her" Romi muttered. She had intended to quit but it was too late for that. This was no time for dramatic speeches about quitting.

"Right. So we know who, we know how…now what is left is to know why" Hasegawa summarized. She seemed much more relaxed than before, seeing how well everyone had managed to find out stuff. It was quite a relief to know she would be able to trust them to have everything under control.

Mitsuhiko shrugged. "We already know why they were doing it. I remember it clearly; this was all to…"

* * *

_To create a mutual killing game_

_To destroy Diavolos Avante_

_To turn us against the Main Board_

_To avenge Vittoria_

* * *

**_To turn us against the Main Board_ **

* * *

"This was all to turn us against the Main Board. The false case, the trial, Lily playing the role of the Judge…Yasumoto-san was a psychologist. I bet she thought of some sort of plan that'd end uniting us against the Main Board, revealing them as the monsters they are"

"It may have been more along the lines of uniting you. Yasumoto-san's false killing game didn't serve to make you see the Main Board as enemies" Lilith pointed.

"That may be right. After you guys got together as companions and not as mere members of an organization then those three could have tried to feed you lies about us" Vieiras sounded really rattled about it.

"Hadn't Hasegawa-san said it was to save you guys?" Wolfenmaus said with indifference, as if it all had been a plan to take everyone to a picnic instead of revealing the Main Board's misdeeds "The 'why' has been clear for some time already"

"Lilith's goals have changed, though. No more saving, now it is all about killing the Main Board" Valkyrie looked at the mess of wires "What I'm not sure about is why she can't do it herself. She needs to make it so neither she or her partners can be linked to our murders"

Lilith seemed unsure for a moment. She was debating internally what she should say, how much she was allowed to say, before settling onto vague truths. "I can't tell you exactly what my creator said, but I think he gave me this directive because of the rest of Diavolos Avante"

"The rest of DeeEy? I don't get it" It didn't seem Valkyrie was doing much effort to understand it. She wanted an answer, she didn't want to look for it herself. At least Lilith was willing to tell her more.

"The most important value for Diavolos Avante is loyalty. That is what Veritas believed in. If anyone heard a few members of DeeEy had conspired to kill the Main Board…nobody would believe them if they said it was for a good reason"

"…she has a point" Vieiras conceded "It would have been great, knowing our deaths could have brought an internal war for DeeEy. Do you imagine how much despair everyone would feel, knowing the organization they were pouring their lives into would have such a large conflict inside?"

"It isn't too late to kill ourselves and frame her" Wolfenmaus said casually. The Main Board really were treating this all way too casually, and Mitsuhiko felt increasingly nervous because of that. Was the Main Board so smug they thought they could act like that? Really?

"It IS too late" Lilith sounded very satisfied "I have been recording all this trial. The data is being stored not only in my head, but also in a remote server. No matter what happens I'll finally have proof to back up my actions once I finally kill you three"

Mitsuhiko was pretty sure at least one member of the Main Board was rolling their eyes behind those masks. "We'll see once that happens"

"I hope you guys don't think you have solved the 'why'" Hasegawa said. That got all the commanders' attention. _But we already know Yasumoto-san and her pals were trying to save us from the Main Board. Did we miss something?_

"Hasegawa-san is right. This isn't over" Vieiras nodded, and talked in a tone that showed his satisfaction so far "Yasumoto-san foolishly tried to fight against us, but why did she think that was necessary?"

"That is right. That is what I mean"

"You know the answer, right?" Kobayashi asked to Hasegawa, who simply shook her head. That got Mitsuhiko's attention even more.

"I don't know. Even if I did I wouldn't be able to tell you guys. I'm sorry, I can't help you now"

"Then there must be something in what you know now that could serve as a hint. We all know Yasumoto-san had a high enough status in DeeEy to be allowed into the Fourth Floor's offices. You could start from there"

"I think the Main Board at least can guess what her motive was"

_A reason why Yasumoto-san would go this far to fight against the Main Board and convince us they were up to no good_ _…_ _it must have been something big enough to warrant such huge risks. Then there_ _'_ _s only one thing it could have been, and I know Yasumoto-san knew about it._

"Hey" Mitsuhiko said "Guys, we can see as plain as day what Yasumoto-san knew was going on! It's very easy:"

* * *

Lilith's Wires

Shackles

Bloody Room in the Basement

Buried Bodies

Twin Beretta M6

Mimori's Testimony

Ventilation System

Code 1774

Lily's Blueprints

Yasumoto's Testimony

Hasegawa's Testimony

Hostage Video

Commanders' Reports

Mimori's Report

Vittoria Delacroix

Global Monthly Report

Mutual Killing Game in the Bunker

Prototype Enoshima AI

Summoning Letter

Kaiji Kudo/Heiji Hasegawa

The Main Board

Whittling Knife

Chemistry Laboratory

Hemlock

Poisoned Commanders

Hasegawa's Testimony II

First Directive

Second Directive

Third Directive

Fourth Directive

Fifth Directive

Emergency Directive

* * *

**Prototype Enoshima AI**

* * *

"Look at the Main Board and you'll see what is the one huge thing Yasumoto can have known that would not only get her to do all the circus she planned, but also to turn us all against the Main Board"

The commanders didn't react immediately to that. It wasn't that they were in disbelief, or that they didn't think Mitsuhiko could be right. It was more that they were considering other options too. "…I don't know, Hikari-kun" Hasegawa said, examining the inside of her cap, deep in thought "It wasn't the only huge thing the Main Board could have done that got Yasumoto-san's attention, especially if she was as important to the organization as you guys made her sound to be"

"Yeah, I can think of another thing that could have worked just as well as the stuff about the prototype AI" Romi agreed "What if what she found out was the stuff about their conspiracy against Veritas?"

"That'd indeed be big enough to turn you guys against us! You liked Veritas, if Yasumoto-san had evidence we had done something to him I think there wouldn't have been any dissent, once she was done with her false murdergame" Vieiras sounded strangely neutral, as if they didn't want it to be a clue about it being right or wrong.

"…can we take that possibility as true? What do you think, Hikari-kun?" Romi asked the hunter. It really was nice to have made such an impression the commanders were willing to ask for his opinion instead of jumping forward with their conclusions.

"I think the idea has merit, but, uh, there is a flaw" Mitsuhiko said, thinking fast. There had to be something that didn't fit "The flaw I'm talking about is, eeeh…a mistake in the order of events. Yes, that is it. If Veritas had somehow been what tipped off Yasumoto-san there was something wrong, then…" Mitsuhiko trailed off. He couldn't think of anything!

"What were you saying?" Lilith pressed. Mitsuhiko looked at her for a moment before smiling faintly _. Maybe here is a chance_ _…_ _!_

"Lilith, let me ask you something:

* * *

_When were you created?_

_Have we missed anything?_

_What went wrong with the plan?_

_Did Yasumoto tell you anything?_

* * *

**_When were you created?_ **

* * *

"When were you created?" Mitsuhiko asked. Lilith moved strangely, as if she was trying to get comfier in her seat, but decided to answer the question nonetheless.

"I can't say I know when I was created, but my memory bank shows it started receiving information three months ago, approximately"

"Three months ago…does that change anything?" Wolfenmaus said almost condescendingly "It just shows this is something they planned for quite a while. Yasumoto-san and her accomplices deserved what happened to them"

"That is not the point! Look, everyone is saying Veritas' kidnapping is what impulse Yasumoto-san to plan the false murdergame, but that can't be right if Lily was being created three months ago"

"That look in your eyes…" Hasegawa leaned towards Mitsuhiko "…it tells me you have evidence. Way to go! What is it?"

"I do. This proves Veritas' kidnapping isn't what Yasumoto-san had against the Main Board"

* * *

Lilith's Wires

Shackles

Bloody Room in the Basement

Buried Bodies

Twin Beretta M6

Mimori's Testimony

Ventilation System

Code 1774

Lily's Blueprints

Yasumoto's Testimony

Hasegawa's Testimony

Hostage Video

Commanders' Reports

Mimori's Report

Vittoria Delacroix

Global Monthly Report

Mutual Killing Game in the Bunker

Prototype Enoshima AI

Summoning Letter

Kaiji Kudo/Heiji Hasegawa

The Main Board

Whittling Knife

Chemistry Laboratory

Hemlock

Poisoned Commanders

Hasegawa's Testimony II

First Directive

Second Directive

Third Directive

Fourth Directive

Fifth Directive

Emergency Directive

* * *

**Commanders' Reports**

* * *

"I think we all know what is in the blocked areas in the Third Floor, don't we?"

"It's Veritas' office. I heard you found a lot of clues in there" Wolfenmaus didn't seem too worried about it, or about Mitsuhiko's protest. Maybe he already expected the hunter to bring up something like that.

"Exactly, and among those clues I found this" Mitsuhiko took out the report he had found on the desk, the one dated from just a month before "Look this one. It was typed by Veritas and signed by him, and look at the date"

"I can't see a thing. Can someone read it aloud?" Romi narrowed her eyes, trying to focus.

"Let me take a look" Wolfenmaus extended his hand, but Hasegawa quickly took the report before anyone in the Main Board could take it and dispose of the evidence.

"No chance! Let's see...yes, the date is from a month ago. Lily was created three months ago, then…"

"Then Veritas' kidnapping can't be what made them start the plan" Koshimizu completed "Makes sense to me. It really was the secret about the Enoshima AI. We already know Yasumoto-san knew about it"

"But why did Veritas' make the Main Board have that AI inserted into their brains?" I don't get that part"

"There were always rumors Valkyrie was ambitious, it may have been her idea" Lilith said snidely. Suddenly, Valkyrie stood up and pointed a manicured hand towards Lilith.

"Shut up, you little brat! I had nothing to do with the AI! I won't let you blame-"

"Calm down" Wolfenmaus practically pushed Valkyrie down and onto her seat, keeping her restrained "Don't let this rile you up" then, talking to the rest: "That is enough. Save that for Round Three. Now, about Round Two…you have discussed everything there was to discuss, and the answers you obtained were useful"

"Is there anything to vote?" Hasegawa asked. She seemed much more relaxed than she was before, maybe because now it was possible she wouldn't have to answer anything or worry about her actions…other than her scheduled execution at the end of the trial.

She really hoped the commanders would be able to save her or stop the Main Board before they got a chance to kill her, but she tried her best to not to show signs of fear. They had Enoshima's AI, the last thing she wanted was for them to get off at her fear.

"I don't think there is" Mitsuhiko said "Let's get Round Two over. Did we pass, masterminds?"

There was silence from the Main Board for a moment before Vieiras sighed dramatically. "You did. Congratulations. Round Two has been cleared"

"Excellent!" Romi exclaimed "For a moment I thought we were goners"

Kobayashi made a gesture of hesitation. "B-But it is not over, we're just halfway into the trial. We don't know what else t-they have planned for us"

"Yes, you are not done yet. Round Three will start now" Wolfenmaus announced. For the moment he was more into the commanders' efforts than Vieiras or Valkyrie. The latter had turned silent, staring at everyone and carefully measuring her options. Two rounds cleared, two left…she was starting to have doubts the commanders would lose and get executed. It was unacceptable.

Vieiras, for the most part, seemed indecisive about what attitude to take.

"What is the topic of Round Three?" Hasegawa inquired.

"Round Three will be about what lead to our actual situation. Why the AI was used, why Veritas was kidnapped, the reasons behind the killing game in the bunker…you have a lot to answer, you know!"

"That can be done. We're not afraid of you guys and your rounds" Romi claimed, getting agreement from the other commanders. _We have gone through two rounds already; we can triumph at the third one too. Let_ _'_ _s do it._


	44. Chapter 6: Endless Pit of Despair - Trial III

"Round Three is about Veritas' disappearance and whatever led to us doing all this. I really can't wait to see how you guys will try to find out anything about this" Wolfenmaus leaned his head sideways onto his hand. Anyone could guess behind that mask there was a complacent smile.

"That must be something the Main Board has been trying their best to cover up. We can't expect to have the answers in plain sight" Mitsuhiko closed his eyes. There was too much in his mind, too many clues and pieces of evidence weighing down his psyche. He took a moment to leave aside what he thought wouldn't be useful anymore.

_Ventilation System, Yasumoto's Testimony, Whittling Knife, Chemistry Laboratory, Hemlock, Poisoned Commanders, First Directive, Third Directive, Fourth Directive has been forgotten._

"Oh, but we do know they tried to hide a lot of stuff! A whole section of the Third Floor, remember that?" Romi pointed. That was true, and Mitsuhiko knew that.

"You guys have the pieces. Let's try to put them together. What will we start with?" Lilith tried to get everyone in order, as if she were in her role as the Judge, but the Main Board weren't going to let the control of the trial go to someone else. Wolfenmaus cleared his throat.

"Since I see you all are sooooo lost and have no idea what to do allow me to suggest the starting point. How about you start with why Veritas would do something like implanting the Enoshima AI on us?"

"We aren't confirming or denying anything about having Enoshima in the brain" Vieiras added. None of the commanders said anything about that, it was very obvious it had happened. They didn't need anything about that to be confirmed.

"Okay, that seems like a good starting point for this. Let's go in a chronological order, so…" Lilith looked around "I know nothing! Don't expect me to give answers. Does no one have anything to say?"

"It won't be easy to know what Veritas was thinking. Hikari-kun found s-some stuff in the Third Floor office but nothing seems useful to me" Kobayashi said.

"It's still worth discussing. Let's give this a try" Mitsuhiko encouraged. This was the crux of the final trial, the part where everything would be decided. It was not going to be easy to solve it, but Mitsuhiko already had more or less an idea of how everything had happened. It was a good idea to not to rush and instead reveal stuff slowly, at least to have time to think all over. _How long has passed since the two hours and half Lilith had given us to win? I hope we are not running out of time_ _…_

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Vittoria Delacroix / Second Directive / Shackles / Lilith_ _'_ _s Wires / Global Monthly Report_

* * *

KOSHIMIZU: Veritas wasn't a bad leader, in my opinion

KOSHIMIZU: For him to make a mistake like this…

KOSHIMIZU: There must have been **something huge.**

VALKYRIE: Let me tell you something:

VALKYRIE: He didn't rush without thinking.

VALKYRIE: Could it have been **_something personal_**?

KOSHIMIZU: Why are you butting into the debate?

HASEGAWA: I'd guess it was **_related to DeeEy_**

WOLFENMAUS: It could be **_both._**

MITSUHIKO: You too? What are you two planning?

WOLFENMAUS: Can't we play along too? How distrustful!

WOLFENMAUS: Geez, you'd think we're trying to mislead you or something.

* * *

"Do you guys think Veritas would be the type of person that would be unable to separate personal pain from stuff related to DeeEy?" Mitsuhiko asked to everyone. He had a theory, but now that he thought about it…he didn't know Veritas very well. Koshimizu caressed his beard, thoughtful.

"I can't say for sure, but I doubt it. The only way I can see Veritas letting his personal problems get in the way of Diavolos Avante would be for it to be about someone important in DeeEy. I don't think that'd be likely.

"Why do you ask? Do you have something in m-mind?" Kobayashi had been just going along the trial. Sometimes Mitsuhiko felt like he was pretty much the only one carrying the trial on his back, and that was frankly annoying.

"I may have. Do you guys remember Vittoria?" Mitsuhiko asked. Judging by the sudden tense reactions everyone but Hasegawa and Lilith had, everyone remembered her.

"You mean Vittoria D-D-D-Delacroix?" Kobayashi had gotten pale "What about her? If we're talking about what could make Veritas do this…are you really insinuating…?"

"He is! He says Vittoria had something to do with the insertion of the AIs in our heads!" Vieiras hurried to try to distort Mitsuhiko's attempt "He is trying to hint it was Vittoria, not Veritas!"

"Vittoria would never do such thing! How rude!" Valkyrie played along with Vieiras' fun. The commanders glared at Mitsuhiko, who was at a loss of words for a moment. Really? Were they going to let the Main Board misdirect them like that?

"Guys, I never said she did it! What I'm trying to say is that Vittoria is what caused Veritas to do something stupid with the AI. His grief for her is what made him lose his mind like that" Mitsuhiko's words were received with stupefied silence from the commanders and inexpressive reactions from the Main Board. It had been clear enough, but none of the commanders dared to ask for confirmation.

Everyone had wanted to believe Vittoria was simply missing. That was why Lilith was the one to go ahead and bluntly say it: "Grief? So this Vittoria person is dead"

"…she is. I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, guys, but Vittoria is dead"

"What a tragedy. The co-leader of Diavolos Avante, widely loved, a girl who tried her best to be a good leader and care for everyone is now pushing daisies in some faraway place in the world" Wolfenmaus's voice almost sounded like a drawl "And noooobody was ever the wiser"

"Veritas hid that fact from everyone. What kind of leader would do that?" Vieiras added "Keep the morale high? What bullshit is that? It's ridiculous"

"And in case you guys don't believe it then let's confirm it even further, shall we?" Wolfenmaus made an elaborate hand gesture towards Mitsuhiko, signaling him to speak more. The hunter realized that was the reason why Valkyrie and Wolfenmaus had intervened in the discussion, to push Mitsuhiko to reveal it. They knew Vittoria's death wouldn't be taken positively at all. It was a trap, and one that was completely unavoidable if the commanders wanted to reach the truth.

Mitsuhiko really hated it.

"…I'd rather not to go into much detail about this. All you need to know is that Vittoria is dead and that it may have been the cause Veritas took such a bad decision"

"…no way…Vittoria…" Romi murmured, mostly to herself. The rest had similarly saddened expressions. Kobayashi, after sighing, started to reminisce, maybe as a way to honor Vittoria.

"She was a great person. I remember she once helped me-"

"No way!" the lyricist suddenly stood up, screeching those two words "It can't be Vittoria is dead!"

"He wouldn't have said it if there had been no evidence"

"I want to see it. I won't believe for a second Vittoria is dead, not until I see proof of it!"

"Why are you denying it? I liked Vittoria a lot too but at least I can accept her death!"

"Shut up! I don't care what you have to say, Kobayashi-kun. Hikari-kun, show it! Show me she isn't hiding, or sick somewhere, or something!"

"Wow, I thought everyone would be reacting with more despair than this" Wolfenmaus said to the rest of the Main Board "At least Romi-san is showing how they should have reacted"

"I don't see the proof yet, Hikari-kun! Where is it?!"

Mitsuhiko pinched the bridge of his nose. "Calm down, geez! Stop screeching for a second!" That seemed to get Romi to slightly calm down, but it wasn't going to be enough. Besides it wasn't like Mitsuhiko really had any other option. Unless he showed the proof, there was a chance other commanders would not believe what he had just said, and at this point that was something they couldn't afford. Everyone needed to understand the information.

* * *

**Panic Talk Battle**

* * *

ROMI: I'm still waiting!

ROMI: Did you even know Vittoria?

ROMI: She wouldn't die so easily.

ROMI: She'll be back

ROMI: A leader can't die!

ROMI: It just can't be true.

ROMI: It must be a false clue

ROMI: Why wouldn't we be told about it?

ROMI: She must be hiding!

ROMI: I refuse to believe it!

* * *

_Show me proof Vittoria is dead!_

* * *

**Mimori** **'** **s Report**

* * *

"Veritas wouldn't think Vittoria was dead if there wasn't proof of it. I read a report in Veritas' computer that informed Vittoria had been found dead in France"

"France? I think it was once rumored she had gone there, yes" Koshimizu nodded.

"I don't see the report" Romi growled. Mitsuhiko really had to keep himself from facepalming at that. Romi was being irrational, and frankly he didn't understand why.

"I didn't print it, or take a photo of it or anything like that. Sorry, I suppose I should have foreseen someone would be so _unreasonable_ they would refuse to listen" Mitsuhiko made sure to pour as much poison as he could into his words. He could feel a headache coming, this was no time to deal with anyone's histrionic behavior.

Mitsuhiko's verbal slap seemed to be effective, though. Romi reeled back into her chair, aghast, but after a few seconds she closed her eyes and bit her lip. "…I'm sorry. Vittoria was a dear friend of mine. I didn't want to believe she was dead…"

"That must be how Veritas felt. If he reacted like you did I'm not surprised he did something like playing with the Enoshima AI" Hasegawa said.

"Yeah…so, Hikari-kun, did that report say how Vittoria died? Was she murdered or was it an accident or…" Wolfenmaus encouraged Mitsuhiko to answer, making impatient gestures with his hand. The hunter grit his teeth, this was going according to the masterminds' intentions, and resolved to try to fight it.

"That doesn't matter. All we need to know is that she is dead"

"…I see. So it is something unpleasant to know about" it seemed Kobayashi knew why Mitsuhiko didn't give more details about Vittoria's death, although the illusionist had no way to know the exact information. Nobody but Mitsuhiko needed to know Vittoria had killed herself. The Main Board surely were expecting everyone to be severely demoralized from hearing their dear leader had done such thing, and Mitsuhiko wasn't going to let that happen. For a moment it seemed Valkyrie was going to say something, but she didn't. Perhaps she imagined nobody would believe what she was going to say?

"Okay, let's move from here. Vittoria is dead and…wait, who sent the report?" Hasegawa asked. It seemed that, out of everyone, she was able to focus the most, maybe because she had no attachment to Vittoria in any way.

"It was Mimori-san" Mitsuhiko informed.

"Mimori-san. Makes sense, she is a journalist. If there's anyone who would find out it'd be her. Now, why didn't Veritas tell anyone?" Koshimizu tried to steer the debate into the direction he judged would allow them to get to the goal. Going through a chronological order still seemed like the best plan.

"He was struck by grief" Romi said "Unless you think there was another reason for it?"

Mitsuhiko nodded. "You know what I think? I'd say the reason Veritas didn't tell anyone would be because…"

* * *

_…_ _he was depressed, too_

_…_ _he didn_ _'_ _t want to lower everyone_ _'_ _s morale_

_…_ _he didn_ _'_ _t want to cause panic_

_…_ _he thought it was no big deal_

* * *

**_…_ ** **_he didn_ ** **_'_ ** **_t want to lower everyone_ ** **_'_ ** **_s morale_ **

* * *

"To understand Veritas' motivation you just have to pay attention to what the Main Board has been doing. Haven't you noticed how they want to depress us by making us use this information? That is exactly what would have happened if Veritas had revealed to everyone Vittoria was dead"

"I see! It makes sense. Better to keep the illusion Vittoria was alive and somewhere away, right?" Hasegawa said. It didn't seem anyone else agreed with her opinion, though.

"We are not so weak we wouldn't have been a-able to keep going without Vittoria. I wish Veritas had said something" Kobayashi muttered, the others expressing they agreed with that. _Veritas wasn_ _'_ _t a good leader, it seems._

"So Veritas didn't tell anyone because he didn't want to depress Diavolos Avante as a whole. Remember Veritas and Vittoria didn't only command over Japan or Asia, they were the global leaders. Now that we have that clear, I wonder if Vittoria's death stayed secret for long" Koshimizu said. _He is right, that is a good point. Did nobody else but Veritas and the Main Board know about Vittoria_ _'_ _s death? It_ _'_ _s worth discussing_ _…_

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Commanders_ _'_ _Reports / Global Monthly Report / Kaiji Kudo-Heiji Hasegawa / Shackles / Lilith_ _'_ _s Wires_

* * *

VALKYRIE: If Mimori found out it makes sense…

VALKYRIE: … ** _other people would know too_**.

HASEGAWA: If you say that then it's no good.

MITSUHIKO: Only Veritas and the Main Board knew it for sure.

MITSUHIKO: I don't think I'm wrong about that.

KOBAYASHI: …someone may have found and **_not told anyone_**.

HASEGAWA: **_Yasumoto-san_** would be the obvious choice for that.

HASEGAWA: It'd give her another motivation to do what she did.

VALKYRIE: It wasn't too hard to know there was something wrong in DeeEy.

VALKYRIE: Hadn't any of you noticed?

KOSHIMIZU: Ignore her.

KOSHIMIZU: It could be the **_general atmosphere._**

KOSHIMIZU: I'm not sure if you know what you mean.

MITSUHIKO: I think I do…

* * *

"Koshimizu-san, just to make sure, what do you mean with 'general atmosphere'?" Mitsuhiko asked. That had given him an idea. The medic scratched his chin, thoughtful.

"Don't you sometimes feel there's something amiss and you're not sure what it is? And it changes your mood, or makes you feel strange or something like that? That is what I mean"

That sounded like what Mitsuhiko was thinking. "I think you may be onto something here! Since some time ago, after Vittoria's death, Veritas had been receiving bad news about Diavolos Avante as a whole. There was a report that also said…DeeEy was on its death throes"

"Death throes?!" Lilith seemed to be the most surprised in the room "Are you sure you read correctly?"

"I did. Apparently if nothing was done DeeEy would be gone in two months"

"…so DeeEy is dying. Should we expect to see ourselves unemployed very soon, then?" Valkyrie sounded pretty amused about that. It was undeniable that, with Veritas dead and the Main Board corrupted beyond any salvation, Diavolos Avante was as good as dead. The hunter also supposed everyone else knew it, but this was no time to discuss the future of the organization – or the lack of future.

"The date of the report is two months after Vittoria's death, that is, ten months ago. We have survived for quite a long time"

**HOW ABOUT YOU ANSWER ME THIS**

Mitsuhiko pursed his lips and turned his head around to look at Wolfenmaus. At least Vieiras hadn't been the one to exclaim that. "So you think enough people suspected something was wrong, enough for it to have enough impact in _a global_ scale. Don't you see how ludicrous that is?"

"I don't see why it'd be a stretch" the hunter replied, not wanting to admit he may have jumped the gun there.

"Look, one doesn't just supposed Vittoria is dead. Everyone until now had thought she was hiding or simply missing. Why would DeeEy be in shambles? How did people find out?" _Right, how did they? There must have been some sort of clue that could kickstart some paranoia or fear, but what could it be?_

* * *

**Rebuttal Showdown**

* * *

_The Main Board / Mimori_ _'_ _s Report / Mimori_ _'_ _s Testimony / Mutual Killing Game in the Bunker / Global Monthly Report_

* * *

WOLFENMAUS: It's unlikely everyone jumped to the same conclusion

WOLFENMAUS: There was never a clear sign

WOLFENMAUS: But somehow some imagined it.

WOLFENMAUS: Was it just paranoia?

WOLFENMAUS: Or could it be…

WOLFENMAUS: …her death was not that much of a secret?

MITSUHIKO: Nobody heard a word about it.

MITSUHIKO: But it's possible something strange may have tipped them off.

WOLFENMAUS: Something odd?

WOLFENMAUS: That is way too vague

WOLFENMAUS: What is this something odd you're talking about?

WOLFENMAUS: Is it **something Veritas said** , or…

WOLFENMAUS: … **something he did**?

WOLFENMAUS: Or was it **unrelated to him**?

WOLFENMAUS: Stop being vague and give me an answer.

WOLFENMAUS: Get it wrong and this trial ends!

* * *

"I think Veritas would be careful enough not to _say_ anything that could hint Vittoria is dead, but one can get conclusions from _actions_ too" Mitsuhiko explained "There's one action in particular that was strange and got some people's attention. I think some of us will remember it"

"I don't seem to recall anything strange" Kobayashi said.

"Don't you guys remember how months ago Veritas announced the Main Board would be changing their codenames?" the hunter reminded them. The Main Board was completely silent at that point, most likely thankful they had masks on. No one would be able to see the wary expressions they had right now.

"Oh, that is right! Veritas did announce the change in codenames, and he never gave a convincing reason for it. I did wonder if it had some sort of ulterior motive" Koshimizu nodded.

"So you think that got some people thinking, and the conclusion they got was that something had happened to Vittoria" Romi tilted her head, thoughtful. She had never really considered that, but now that she thought about it, it made some sense "Veritas and Vittoria…it was sort of funny how both his codename and her name started with V. Maybe he made the Main Board change their codenames as a way to honor her"

"That is exactly what I think happened" the hunter confirmed,

"Don't you guys think you may have jumped to conclusions too soon?" Wolfenmaus suddenly said, raising his voice higher than it was adequate _. Hey, are we getting closer to something touchy?_

"I don't see how that can't be the truth. What else would lead to Veritas changing your codenames?" Koshimizu raised his eyebrows. Some commanders did notice Wolfenmaus had hurried a bit too much to divert their attention, Mitsuhiko was relieved to see that.

"There is one other event that could have led to us getting out codenames changed, and hey, what a coincidence! It's quite fitting to your theories!" Wolfenmaus pointed a manicured finger at his head "Suppose we got the AIs inserted into our brains. Wouldn't it be adequate to change our codenames as a symbol of change? It's the kind of dramatic bullshit Veritas would do"

"Since when can we take a theory seriously when it comes from you people?" Mitsuhiko uttered, but he couldn't avoid mulling that over. Could his earlier thought be wrong? Just to make sure he consulted the evidence he had found in Veritas' office. He wasn't the only one considering it, at least.

"I'm afraid it makes some sense. What do you guys say?" Lilith inquired.

"…no. That can't be what brought the codename change. I found something that shows it"

"You always find something. I have to wonder how you do it. Do you receive whispers from beyond our mortal realm or something?" Valkyrie had been staring at Mitsuhiko for a while already. He really was the biggest threat to their success.

"I just check the clues and manage to link them, it's not so hard. There is something that shows the codename change happened before the Enoshima AI was used. To explain it I'll need two different pieces of evidence. First, look at this one:"

* * *

Lilith's Wires

Shackles

Bloody Room in the Basement

Buried Bodies

Twin Beretta M6

Mimori's Testimony

Lily's Blueprints

Hasegawa's Testimony

Hostage Video

Commanders' Reports

Mimori's Report

Vittoria Delacroix

Global Monthly Report

Mutual Killing Game in the Bunker

Prototype Enoshima AI

Summoning Letter

Kaiji Kudo/Heiji Hasegawa

The Main Board

Hasegawa's Testimony II

Second Directive

Fifth Directive

Emergency Directive

* * *

**Global Monthly Report**

* * *

Mitsuhiko wished he had been able to print the report, but there was nothing to be done about that. Everyone would have to trust his word on this. "In Veritas' computer I found a file. It was a report about the general state of DeeEy. Remember how I said it was dying? That report was signed by Valkyrie"

"When was that report sent to Veritas, again?" Hasegawa inquired.

"Two months after Vittoria's death"

"I don't think that changes much. It could be a lie, created to make Veritas think the organization was dying" Koshimizu said.

"Unless the AI was used as a way to try to counter DeeEy's possible death" Romi said. The other commanders pondered that possibility, but nobody seemed convinced of that.

"I don't know…do we know when the AI was used?" Vieiras inquired, resting their chin on their hands.

"For your information, we do know!" Mitsuhiko affirmed.

* * *

Lilith's Wires

Shackles

Bloody Room in the Basement

Buried Bodies

Twin Beretta M6

Mimori's Testimony

Lily's Blueprints

Hasegawa's Testimony

Hostage Video

Commanders' Reports

Mimori's Report

Vittoria Delacroix

Global Monthly Report

Mutual Killing Game in the Bunker

Prototype Enoshima AI

Summoning Letter

Kaiji Kudo/Heiji Hasegawa

The Main Board

Hasegawa's Testimony II

Second Directive

Fifth Directive

Emergency Directive

* * *

**Prototype Enoshima AI**

* * *

Mitsuhiko realized he had hurried to shout that. He wasn't entirely truthful; he didn't have the necessary information. The hunter hoped the person who did see it had the forethought to remember the details. "…Hasegawa-san, what were the dates in the email conversation?"

"The date? I don't remember" the false courier answered. Mitsuhiko's shoulders drooped, that was not good at all. Without those dates it'd be very difficult to prove the Enoshima AI had nothing to do with the codename change. His mind drew a blank, what was he supposed to say now?

But Koshimizu realized what Mitsuhiko had been trying to do. The medic cracked his knuckles as if he weren't going to ask a vital question. "Do you at least know what the dates were, more or less?"

"I have a general idea, but-"

Koshimizu interrupted her. Better to take advantage of her memory before she forgot. Koshimizu mentioned a date, begging her to tell them when the email thread had taken place in, compared to that date. Hasegawa put her cap over her face, thinking as hard as she could. "I think it was…a few days earlier? It wasn't too long before that"

"What is going on? What's that date, Koshimizu-san?" Romi felt like an outsider right now. There was clearly a plan on progress and she had nothing to do with it. How did the Main Board deal with these feelings? She didn't get it. The medic looked at her for a moment before raising his voice.

"Yasumoto-san and I talked to Veritas about the dangers of using the AI, and I know very well it was before two months passed. It was earlier than the global report Hikari-kun mentioned not too long ago!"

"And Hasegawa-san saw that email thread, even earlier than the date you talked to Veritas. That should prove it, the AI insertion can't have led to the codename change" Lilith seemed much calmer than she had been some time before, most likely due to all the progress the commanders had done so far. Maybe she wouldn't have to intervene!

"So the real reason why the codenames was changed was because of Vittoria's death, but that didn't stop DeeEy from breaking down. Because of that Veritas decided to use the AI. Did I get it right?" Mitsuhiko summarized the progress so far, it seemed like everyone was on the right path! He calculated they were around halfway in this discussion, but there was something strange…something that didn't fit, he couldn't put his finger on it yet.

"What happened after that? They got the Enoshima AI and immediately tried to backstab Veritas?" Kobayashi ushered to continue drawing the timeline of events, and looked at the Main Board. The three masterminds stared at him directly to the eyes, as if they had done nothing wrong.

"No, some time must have passed. Veritas went missing three weeks ago. Are you guys going to try to find out what happened during all these months?" Valkyrie leaned on her hands, gesturing lazily "I bet you could find a ton of fun facts and trivia details in that part of the timeline. Give it a try!"

"…there is a time limit, in case you guys forgot" Wolfenmaus added. Of course there was. Wolfenmaus clarified they had ten minutes left to discuss the Third Round, and once again reminded them that if they didn't form a concise timeline of events it'd be a loss.

"Ten minutes left, we can't dilly-dally with senseless details" the hunter put all his clues on the table, moving what the group had solved so far to form a line "We know what happened to Vittoria, we know what made those three assholes be who they are…what is next?"

"It is like six months of empty space before this whole mess happened. I don't remember anything special about those months" Romi said.

Valkyrie shrugged dismissively. "Not everything during that time can be important. Focus on what you have, alright? Come on, I'm interested on seeing what kind of stuff you will spout about this period of time!"

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Shackles / Lilith_ _'_ _s Wires / Kaiji Kudo/Heiji Hasegawa_ _/ Lily_ _'_ _s Blueprints / Global Monthly Report_

* * *

KOSHIMIZU: Nothing we have show anything important during those months

KOSHIMIZU: I think this is **_a trap_** from the Main Board

ROMI: But what if it isn't?

ROMI: Let's think as much as we can and check our clues!

VIEIRAS: How about you divide the timeline in sections?

VIEIRAS: You'll focus better on each one that way!

KOBAYASHI: A-And take a lot of time on each one? Yeah, right!

KOBAYASHI: …but it wouldn't hurt to try.

KOBAYASHI: I bet they started planning something at the **_first few months_**

HASEGAWA: They must have been active in the **_middle months_**

ROMI: Veritas was kidnapped just a month ago.

ROMI: Something else may have happened during in the **_last month_**.

VIEIRAS: Oh, look at the time!

VIEIRAS: Nine minutes left!

* * *

Mitsuhiko narrowed his eyes, staring at the wall. Was there even anything to talk about? Valkyrie had been the one to push for that to be discussed, and since there was a time limit…an effective way to mark an automatic loss and kill them all would be to get them to run out of time. Chances was this was another trap. "Guys, I don't think anything worth noting happened until Veritas' kidnapping. Let's go for that"

"Are you completely sure, Hikari-kun? You could be missing something" Wolfenmaus tried to get the hunter to start a senseless discussion. Valkyrie gestured him to shut up, though.

"Forget it. It was worth a try but it looks like he is too smart to fall for it. We lost. Again" she said flippantly "Does that mean you are done? Did you guys solve everything?"

"I think we d-"

"Uh, excuse me?" Kobayashi raised a finger. He seemed reluctant to let Mitsuhiko continue "I-I think we may not be done here…No! Hikari-kun, you are wrong!" he suddenly shouted, although he seemed to regret raising his voice just a second later "I mean, let's not rush, let's think for a bit longer…"

"Why? What doubt do you have?"

"I think there is something that may have actually happened? Before we all got called here"

Romi raised her eyebrows "Something like what?"

"I don't know the details, but wasn't there another person in the Main Board before? This Volkos guy? What happened to him?" _…_ _damn it, I completely forgot about that! He is right!_

"Oh god, you guys were right. We almost missed something vital" Mitsuhiko said, astonished. That was a big mistake that would have meant everyone's death, and he almost overlooked it "Volkos was a known member, and if what we talked about the codenames was right, he also received the AI in his brain. Why did he get killed?"

"It is unlikely his conscious processes drowned out the AI" Koshimizu intervened "I don't think he'd have suffered absolutely no effects"

"That is no more than a random assumption!" Hasegawa shouted, pointing at Mitsuhiko "You have no way to confirm or deny it"

"I don't? Maybe I do, Hasegawa-san" Koshimizu grinned "I haven't forgotten who you were married to. Anything can work. Come on, think!"

"M-Me? Uuuh…" the false courier looked away "He didn't act any different than he usually did. I think I would have noticed if he had a madwoman in his head for a few months" she sighed "…could he have hidden any strange behavior? I hate to admit it, but I can't deny that possibility"

"What would have happened if he didn't get as affected as the rest of the Main Board did?" Romi inquired. It seemed something had been nagging at her for some time already "Wouldn't they have gotten rid of him?"

"Before Veritas died? That'd be way too risky"

"Not if it was done in a way that made him look extremely suspicious. Think about it: Volkos is the only one who knows the extent of the AI, or maybe he didn't but he was the one closest to finding out what Valkyrie and Vieiras were planning. Getting rid of him was important, but Veritas should get so suspicious he'd ignore anything Volkos could leave or say before his death. How would one achieve it?" _That is right! We do know about that._

* * *

Lilith's Wires

Shackles

Bloody Room in the Basement

Buried Bodies

Twin Beretta M6

Mimori's Testimony

Lily's Blueprints

Hasegawa's Testimony

Hostage Video

Commanders' Reports

Mimori's Report

Vittoria Delacroix

Global Monthly Report

Mutual Killing Game in the Bunker

Prototype Enoshima AI

Summoning Letter

Kaiji Kudo/Heiji Hasegawa

The Main Board

Hasegawa's Testimony II

Second Directive

Fifth Directive

Emergency Directive

* * *

**Mutual Killing Game in the Bunker**

* * *

"The killing game Volkos was blamed for! Of course!" Mitsuhiko's eyes started to shine, the clues were being linked together again "You three were trying to get rid of Volkos. You three made the game to make it look like he was the mastermind and then murdered him!"

"Hey hey hey hey, don't jump to conclusions so fast!" Vieiras said. They didn't sound too worried about that "If you check all the information there is you will realize nobody but Volkos had anything to do with it"

"Uh, but any of you could modify the information, right? That proves nothing" Koshimizu pointed, and looked at Hasegawa. She was glaring at Vieiras, daring them to say another word about Volkos being the mastermind of that.

"I don't know much about it, but I heard many grunts were sent to break into the shelter. Wouldn't there be a commander among them to give orders and keep an eye over everyone?" Romi wondered, looking at everyone in the room. No one claimed to be with the grunts that day, but information came from an unlikely source. Lilith moved her coils and announced:

"My creator was, and he wasn't alone. I heard him talking about that once, while he was finishing me"

"What did he say?"

"He said Fukuyama-kun and him were among the people sent to break into the shelter" she tilted her head "I don't think he knew about the game itself"

"Fukuyama-kun? Really?" Somehow, hearing that name got Mitsuhiko's attention. He supposed it was because of the actor's accomplice status. Now that he thought about it… "Wait, guys, did we ever find out why Fukuyama-kun and Mimori-san were helping the Main Board?"

"You didn't" Wolfenmaus muttered. He seemed to be back to normal, or as normal as a brain-infected person could be "You think you got time to touch that topic? Oh wait! You have no option. That is an important part of all this"

"We know Mimori-san helped because she was trying to find Veritas" Hasegawa reminded them.

"She was the journalist among you, if there is anyone who would find out something happened to Veritas it is her" Lilith nodded "But tell me this: how did she find out?"

"I don't think she ever said anything about that! Damn it, Mimori-san" Koshimizu narrowed his eyes. "But is that really the whole reason? Was she close to Veritas? I know she was in his good graces, but I won't suppose they were friends or anything like that. What was her incentive to look for Veritas?"

"Loyalty" Wolfenmaus answered "There is no other reason"

"And that means there was another reason. Who would have thought?" Valkyrie shrugged "Right? You all know it, right?"

"…there may be" Mitsuhiko slowly said "You two immediately contradicted each other, that should mean there is something important here, something important"

"But without proof it doesn't matter" Vieiras piped up. The hunter cringed, it seemed he had once again fallen into a trap. What was wrong with him today? The Main Board really were making an effort to stop them all in their tracks, and he had triggered it once again. Was there a reason why Mimori decided to look for Veritas or was it just because he was the leader of DeeEy?

"What do you think, Hikari-kun? I think there really was another reason" Romi said "There is one clue linking Mimori and Veritas. You could try starting from there. What I don't see is why it would influence her to try so hard to find him" _That is true, there is one_ _…_

* * *

Lilith's Wires

Shackles

Bloody Room in the Basement

Buried Bodies

Twin Beretta M6

Mimori's Testimony

Lily's Blueprints

Hasegawa's Testimony

Hostage Video

Commanders' Reports

Mimori's Report

Vittoria Delacroix

Global Monthly Report

Mutual Killing Game in the Bunker

Prototype Enoshima AI

Summoning Letter

Kaiji Kudo/Heiji Hasegawa

The Main Board

Hasegawa's Testimony II

Second Directive

Fifth Directive

Emergency Directive

* * *

**Mimori's Report**

* * *

"Mimori was the one to tell Veritas Vittoria was dead. He would be closer to her thanks to that, wouldn't he?" Mitsuhiko mused, but that line of reasoning didn't seem to convince anyone.

"No, I don't think so, but maybe Mimori-san would want to get closer to Veritas. The thing is how" Vieiras said, nobody paying attention to them.

"She did go look for Veritas through being the accomplice, she has enough loyalty to him to do something so dangerous" Romi pursed her lips, there was something weird going on "…was it mere loyalty?"

"Y-You mean Mimori-san maybe…maybe had the hots for Veritas?" Kobayashi's eyes widened, disgusted at such mental images. Romi stared at him like he had grown an arm in middle of his chest.

"God, no! That's not it! I was just thinking aloud there may be another reason for her to give that a try. Since the only link Mimori-san has with Veritas is the report it is possible it is related to that"

"A simple report can't make that happen. There must be a deeper reason" _A reason for Mimori-san to take these risks_ _…_

"…perhaps that report really is the reason for all this" Mitsuhiko said "In a way all this started with Mimori-san's report. If it hadn't been for that, Veritas wouldn't have lost hope. That led to he using the AI on the Main Board…and now we're here because of the effects of that AI"

"Oh, I get it! She may have felt responsible for everything that was happe-happening here!" Kobayashi nodded sagely "Mimori-san had honor, she wouldn't hesitate to take responsibility for her actions"

"…I kind of agree, but I don't think it was that" Mitsuhiko's visage was lightening up, a sudden idea forming in his head. It was the result of his hope, thinking that maybe not everything was as bad as it seemed, but at the same time it made everything more painful, as it would have meant everything could have been avoided from way back, months ago "I think Mimori-san was feeling guilty, but the reason for that was that she made a mistake, a fatal mistake unbecoming of a journalist. The reason we are here are the consequences of that mistake!"

"Did Veritas ever realize it?" Lilith asked. Everyone was listening to Mitsuhiko, even the Main Board. He had gone in unknown terrain for everybody else, not even the masterminds knew for sure what kind of mistake he was talking about.

"He never did. If he had I can guarantee nothing of this would be happening now. The mistake Mimori-san did could be summarized in a few words:"

* * *

_Vittoria is alive_

_Contacting Veritas was a bad idea_

_Mimori wanted to quit DeeEy_

_There was a conspiracy in DeeEy_

_Mimori has been dead since the beginning_

* * *

**_Vittoria is alive_ **

* * *

"Vittoria is alive" Mitsuhiko stated. Nobody said a thing about that, not sure they had heard correctly. Was he serious about that? Mitsuhiko held back his wish to roll his eyes, annoyed "Look, think of it like this: the only link there is between Mimori-san and Veritas is her report about Vittoria's death. That report is what led to Veritas falling into despair and using the AI on the Main Board, which in turn caused everything bad that has happened in the last couple months. How would Mimori-san take it if she realized she made a hasty decision and she was wrong all along?"

"…try to fix what she did?" Koshimizu was the first to react, talking slowly as if he wasn't sure of his own words.

"Exactly. She caused the Main Board's betrayal, they got Veritas kidnapped…and so here was a chance. They were nearby, controlling Monobear and all. If she managed to find them early in the game then it'd make sense for her to join them as an accomplice, waiting for the chance to rescue Veritas"

"This is…this is outrageous! Ridiculous! You can't be seriously insinuating…!" Romi shouted, messing with her hair in confusion "You have absolutely no proof Vittoria is alive!"

"That is right, I don't, but it's the only thing I can think Mimori-san would be guilty of. Got any better ideas?"

"That is now how this works! You can't say something like that and rely on something like what you _think_!" Vieiras protested, but half of the people around, including Valkyrie, seemed to be considering Mitsuhiko's theory with seriousness. Kobayashi hemmed and hawed, turning it around in his head.

"It is not so impossible when you remember what she said. She said we wouldn't forgive her i-if we knew why she turned into an accomplice" he said "This is big enough to warrant that"

"We can ask her later. Mimori-san may be the only person who can say for sure if Vittoria is a-alive or dead" Romi shrugged "We won't find out by ourselves, so instead let's ask this: why did Fukuyama-san turn into an accomplice?"

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Mutual Killing Game in the Bunker / Shackles / Fifth Directive / Hasegawa_ _'_ _s Testimony II / Hostage Video_

* * *

LILITH: It's said the only contact Fukuyama had…

LILITH: …was at **the end of the mutual killing game** in the bunker.

WOLFENMAUS: Unless one of you can prove…

WOLFENMAUS: …he had contact with us **_before that_**?

KOBAYASHI: Whatever the reason it's obvious…

KOBAYASHI: …the Main Board had **_something against Fukuyama_**.

HASEGAWA: They could have **_something he wanted_**.

ROMI: What about having the same goal than Mimori-san's?

ROMI: Could he have been as **_loyal_** as Mimori-san was?

LILITH: Before you say anything, Hikari-kun:

LILITH: Make sure it is not mere speculation.

LILITH: You have been using speculation too much recently.

* * *

"Funny you say that, Hasegawa-san-"

"Did you remember my warning?" Lilith's head rolled right to Mitsuhiko's side, as if she was going to bite the hunter if he dared to speculate more. The hunter pushed her away, shouting.

"I know, I know, geez! I have proof! As I was saying, Hasegawa-san wasn't the only one to lose someone close to her in the game in the bunker. Fukuyama-kun lost someone too"

"But no one on this file seems to be related to him!" Lilith noted.

"It's not a relative. There was this woman, Chihiro Toriumi, who was his fiaceé. Let's suppose he wants to find answers. Wouldn't the Main Board be able to take advantage of that?"

"Of course they would! They planned what happened in that game in the first place" Koshimizu said.

"Yes, that is what I mean! They must have offered him that information in exchange of his cooperation, and Fukuyama-kun wasn't in the best mental state. He accepted and we know how that ended"

"I'd ask them how they are so heartless to take advantage of someone's love for another person, but I have the feeling the answer is obvious" Lilith returned to her seat. The Main Board seemed to be amused by that, as Valkyrie did a mocking gesture of surprise, although the effect was a bit ruined by the mask.

"A heart? What is that? Is it one of those newfangled inventions?"

"Knew it. So that brings us to the present. That leaves one single question to solve, I'd say" Koshimizu took a deep breath "Why is all this happening? Why did the Main Board create the game we're in right now?"

"Answer that question and the round will be over" Vieiras was slumped in their seat, apparently defeated. It seemed they had already given up, knowing the commanders were going to solve everything they asked.

"Did you guys give up?" Mitsuhiko thought it was pretty strange Vieiras and Wolfenmaus had just lost all their enthusiasm. Valkyrie continued like normal, but her partners had stopped caring, apparently. The hunter wasn't sure what to think.

"Of course not! It's just that I know how it'll go: I'll protest, you'll jump forward like a third rate shounen manga protagonist, and I'll get my ass kicked verbally for like the fourth time tonight. Why can't you do it, Valkyrie?"

"Remember our roles! Yours is to deal that part of the trials, I supervise" she said, making Vieiras tap their false red nails against the table. It felt like Vieiras would like nothing more than tear off the wig from Valkyrie's head

"Fine! Let's give it a try" Vieiras pointed at Mitsuhiko "It is not over yet! You have no idea what our current goal is!"

"I have a very good idea what it is" Mitsuhiko replied, not intimidated at all.

"Let this be the last time tonight I have to do this. Learn your place already, Hikari-kun!" _This must be the easiest question_. After everything that was discussed, after all that had been said, there is one single answer.

* * *

**Panic Talk Battle**

* * *

VIEIRAS: It is your last chance

VIEIRAS: It is not what you're thinking!

VIEIRAS: Stop looking at me like that!

VIEIRAS: The answer isn't obvious

VIEIRAS: I can hear it already!

VIEIRAS: You can get some homemade cooking if you stop

VIEIRAS: What do you want?!

VIEIRAS: Do you think you're some sort of hero?

VIEIRAS: Stop that already!

VIEIRAS: N-No! Shut uuup!

* * *

**Why did we create this mutual killing game?**

* * *

_Enoshima AI Implanted into the Winner_

* * *

"When a Main Board member can't continue their duties, a new member must be obtained. Volkos was killed because he didn't despair like you three expected" Mitsuhiko narrowed his eyes "So you needed someone vulnerable, someone that could be affected by the AI to join you three in whatever plans you have for DeeEy. What better candidate than someone who would throw away everyone else's lives to reach that spot?"

"That is right. Enoshima didn't exactly place human lives on a pedestal. Anyone who w-would lead to so many other people's deaths could end being like her" Kobayashi looked at Mitsuhiko accusingly, making the hunter avert their eyes. That is what could have happened to him? He would have ended as another Enoshima-influenced person? He really had dodged a bullet there.

"…if I had gotten away with poisoning everyone then would that mean I…" Hasegawa's pupils had shrunk, noticing the Main Board had focused on her when she said that. It seemed her supposition of being able to get away because she wasn't a commander was mistaken. The Main Board weren't looking for a _commander_ , _anyone_ who could fall to the AI influence would have been good enough, even someone completely unrelated.

"They could have placed you as the new member and no one would question it. You were an idiot, Hasegawa-san" it seemed Lilith had been waiting quite some time to be able to tell her something like that "Leaving that aside, that solves the timeline! We got from beginning to end"

"And looks like we had three minutes left. Did we win?" Mitsuhiko couldn't avoid grinning cheekily. Vieiras made an obscene gesture with their hand while Valkyrie talked.

"Yes, you did! Congratulations, have a medal, yadda yadda yadda. Enough of this round, it is time for the last one!" She had been waiting for it. The thought of winning with that last round was what had gotten her cheerful enough the last few minutes. She had the element of surprise, and although she was obligated to give them time to investigate, she was sure the end result would be favorable for the Main Board.

"Only one single round more and we can be out of here…" Romi said "About time! Let's get on with it!"

"Not so fast. It is not what you expect. All of you, look at me, I want to see your faces when I say it" A feeling of dread started to creep in all the commanders. Nothing that could have Valkyrie so happy could mean good news. Valkyrie wished she didn't have the mask, so she could show the almost psychotic smile that filled her face.

"Bonus round! Let this explain it" Valkyrie threw on the table a single object all the commanders recognized: it was a Monobear file. Koshimizu took it, hesitating to turn it on, but it wasn't like turning their back to the challenge was an option.

The diagram that filled the screen was something he had hoped not to see. "Mimori-san!"

"What happened to her? Is she-" Mitsuhiko was about to stand up when the medic shouted.

"She is dead!" Koshimizu left the file on the table so the rest could take it and confronted the Main Board "You killed her!"

"Are you confident enough to put it up to vote right now, without investigating?" Wolfenmaus challenged "You can't blame the three of us, either. Which one is the killer?"

"Did you say 'investigating'? We can see the body?" Hasegawa hasn't wasted time, already getting to the door to rush to the Infirmary. As soon as Valkyrie nodded she slammed the doors open, running down the hallway. The commanders followed her without bothering to say another word, getting to where the false courier was standing. She had opened the doors to the Infirmary and was staring inside, covering her mouth with her hands. Mitsuhiko, already having lost any hope of this being no more than a bluff, looked inside.

The Infirmary was mostly unchanged, but Mimori was on her bed in an uncomfortable position. It was unlikely she could be like that if she had control of her body, there was no doubt about that. Another one of them had been killed, just when they thought it was all safe. _And I could be the culprit_ _…_

_…_ _did I murder her? I_ _'_ _m going to_ _…_ _I_ _'_ _m going to be executed at the end of this all_ _…?_


	45. Chapter 6: Endless Pit of Despair - Investigation?

Mimori's death wasn't entirely unexpected, but it doesn't change the fact it's entirely unwelcome and no one wanted it to happen. Mitsuhiko froze when he arrived, and as if it wasn't enough, the speakers started sounding.

_"_ _A body has been discovered! After a veeeeeery short investigation a trial will start!_ _"_

"Are you kidding me?" Romi growled, turning around to glare at the Main Board "Is this your way to stall for time?"

Vieiras placed their hand on their chest, feigning being offended by that. "Stalling for time? Blasphemy! It's our duty to not to let a murder go unsolved"

"Mimori-san was murdered by someone here. One of the nine people here is the killer. Do your job, find the culprit, and you'll be declared winners. Should be easy, shouldn't it? You solved four trials and solved every other mystery in this building" Wolfenmaus added.

"And for everyone's benefit, here is the Monobear File!" Valkyrie started giving the commanders pieces of paper with just a few sentences scribbled on it. Mitsuhiko took his, unamused, and read the content. It was as succinct and unhelpful as usual.

**Monobear File #6**

_Victim: Kyrie Mimori, codename: Botis_

_Cause of Death: Exsanguination_

_Location of the Body: Infirmary_

_Time of Death: 8:53 PM_

_The body shows great amount of wounds caused by sharp wire-like objects, severing a considerable amount of blood vessels. There is a bullet wound on the right shoulder. While first aid was provided, no effort to perform a blood transfusion was done._

"There was no blood transfusion because we didn't have the necessary implements!" Koshimizu protested "This place was badly equipped, for an infirmary"

"Leave your complaint in the complaint box. For now, I recommend you focus on investigating, because we did mean it when the announcement said 'veeeeeery short'" Valkyrie leaned on the hallway wall, pointing into the Infirmary "Chop chop!"

Okay, I don't have to assume this was my fault. She may have died for some other reason. Mitsuhiko focused on the most obvious clue available: a trail of blood on the floor. Not only that, there were footprints in it, going towards the bed and then back towards the hallway. The hunter crouched to a side, noting Koshimizu rubbed the footprints. "Fresh"

"Could this all be Mimori-san's blood?"

"Who else's blood would it be? Use your brain, Hikari-kun. Besides this fits the cause of death" Koshimizu rubbed his eyes tiredly "She must have loosened the bandages"

"Let's see what happened" Mitsuhiko pointed from the bed, where the trail of blood started "Mimori-san got out of the bed and dragged herself all the way to the door. The trail stops there, yet the body is on the bed"

"If she dragged herself to the door it makes no sense she'd just stand up and go back to the bed. A second person did it"

**Blood on the Floor**

_There_ _'_ _s a trail of blood starting from the bed and going in direction of the Infirmary door. It stops not too far from the door. The blood is fresh and is thought to be Mimori_ _'_ _s_

"Then…could it be this spot is where Mimori-san died?" Mitsuhiko pointed at the point the trail ended at.

"Most likely! But there's something we should wonder: who carried Mimori-san onto the bed? These footprints are the answer to that"

"And it can't have been any of us commanders, Hasegawa-san and I were the last ones to leave and Mimori-san was alive" Mitsuhiko touched the footprints, those were as fresh as the trail of blood.

**Footprints**

_A set of bloody footprints, going from the entrance of the Infirmary to the bed and back._

Kobayashi had been busy checking the bed and the body on it. When the hunter approached, he had finished checking the wounds described in the file. "It's no use! I see nothing we don't know about already!"

"…really?" That was disappointing. If there had been any wounds the masterminds tried to hide, it could have meant he hadn't killed her.

"Yes. Do you think you're the killer, Hikari-kun?"

"If my bullet had been what caused her death she would have died much sooner than this!"

"Not really, she died of 'exsanguination" Romi pointed "You may be at fault here. It's nothing personal, and we all thank you for everything you have done, but if you're the culprit…we'll have no more option than throwing you to the wolves"

"Wouldn't you say we'd throw him to the bears?" Kobayashi grinned hesitantly and turned away when Romi glared at him.

"Not the time for jokes, Kobayashi-kun"

**Shooting Incident**

_Earlier that day, Mitsuhiko shot Mimori on the shoulder, kickstarting the loss of blood that may or may not have killed her_

"What about the other wounds? Lilith could be the culprit" Mitsuhiko inquired.

"…I'm no medic, but I think those are too shallow for her to lose so m-much blood…" Kobayashi mutedly said "But maybe being on the roof may have caused it to bleed more? I don't know"

"Doubt it, but it may be worth keeping in mind. Lilith did it with the intent of potentially killing her. It's possible she did achieve it belatedly" Romi didn't want to condemn Mitsuhiko, she was willing to consider the other possibilities, no matter how outlandish they could be.

**Lilith** **'** **s Actions**

_Lilith used her wires to tie Mimori to the roof, exposed to the cold of the night. Her wires also caused a myriad of wounds that may have caused Mimori_ _'_ _s death_

"The file also looks like it's trying to blame Koshimizu-san" Kobayashi added, pointing at the last line: ' _no effort to perform a blood transfusion was done_ _'_ _,_ "D-Do you think the masterminds would make him guilty based on that?"

"That'd be foul play!" Romi scowled, but the medic, who had heard the conversation, sighed loudly and gave his opinion:

"I'm afraid playing fair isn't the Main Board's priority. I wouldn't be surprised if they label me as the culprit as an attempt to kill us all"

"Did you find any other clues?"

"No, this Infirmary doesn't have anything else. As a whole I'd say this case is extremely simple: Mimori-san died from the bullet wound" Koshimizu said, Mitsuhiko averted his eyes "But for our sakes we should keep an open mind. There's a possibility someone from the Main Board did it and is trying to confound us" Mitsuhiko had been about to reply to that when Valkyrie shouted from the hallway, standing in front of the open doors with her hands on her hips.

"Did I hear that right? There's nothing else? Why, that sounds like the investigation doesn't have to continue anymore" she sounded annoyingly cheerful about that "Let's return to the meeting room and solve this murder. If it's as simple as you say, then it shouldn't take long!"

"We'll take as long as we need"

"Oh, beg your pardon? It seems there's a misunderstanding here" Valkyrie pointed with her thumb in direction of the Meeting Room "There's no option for you. I'll let you guys play in the trial for a while, but the investigation is over. Get going, everyone"

"Why you…" Hasegawa muttered. The commanders followed the Main Board back to the Meeting Room. The investigation seemed to have been done merely because that was the protocol when someone died, a way for the Main Board to continue exerting control over the commanders, but it had done more than that: all the commanders felt rather unsure of what the Main Board were doing. Who would the masterminds pin Mimori's murder onto?

Was it even possible to win? Since there was no clear culprit, the masterminds could lie and say one of the other suspects was the real killer. It was starting to look more and more like this was a case doomed to end in disaster. _It can_ _'_ _t end here! We have walked a long way already; it can_ _'_ _t be this is how it_ _'_ _ll end._

…now that he thought about it, hadn't there been something wrong earlier? Mitsuhiko entered the Meeting Room with the commanders, and that's when he saw the object that jogged his memory. There was a bloodied Monobear under the table, with a lot of blood on all his paws. It was still very fresh, from what Mitsuhiko could see. Could it be…?

**Bloody Monobear**

_An inactive Monobear, brought by Valkyrie at the start of the last trial. It_ _'_ _s sprinkled with blood and all four of his paws are covered with fresh blood._

And now that he took a closer look at the Main Board…Valkyrie bad blood on her trench coat too, and it had been like that since they entered to the Meeting Room before! She hadn't even try to hide it! Mitsuhiko couldn't say it for sure, but it seemed the blood on the trench coat was fresh too. Could it be Mimori's blood?

**Valkyrie** **'** **s Trench Coat**

_The clothing Valkyrie has been using for a while. Stained with fresh blood, and it has been like that since before the final trial started._

The evidence available was too little, and the stakes were too high. There was no room for mistakes. Mitsuhiko sat down, closing his eyes and preparing himself for the last part of the final trial, what would decide everything. All they needed to do was overcome the Main Board's trap, no matter the cost. Still…

…he really hoped that cost wouldn't be his own life.


	46. Chapter 6: Endless Pit of Despair - Extra Trial

The eleventh hour had arrived, and everyone knew it. The problem was that it was undeniable the Main Board had the control for the moment. Mitsuhiko fully expected them to twist the end result in ways that could benefit them, and judging by the way the other commanders stayed silent and hesitated to start, they did fear the Main Board would cheat them out of the win. Lilith was especially upset by the situation, she looked like there was nothing else she'd want more than wrap her tendrils all over the masterminds' necks. She glared at the commanders. "You guys know the threat is still in effect, don't you?"

"The threat?" The hunter did remember Lilith had threatened to do something, but he didn't remember what exactly it had been. He had way too much in his mind.

"If you commanders can't defeat the Main Board; I'll be forced to take action, and let it be warned: you'd all be likely to die if I take action"

"…you haven't said what you plan to do" Koshimizu noted, steeping his fingers. Lilith glanced at the Main Board for a moment, wordlessly telling the medic it'd be stupid to give details "Oh. Right"

"Trust me, you don't want to let me do it. It won't end well. Start the trial already"

"Okay, first things first! Who are the suspects?" Hasegawa decided having a person to aim for would be of help, better that than randomly examining the clues.

"Hikari-kun is our first option, his bullet started all this" Romi said "But Lilith tried to kill her, she should be our main suspect"

"…are you afraid of accusing Hikari-kun? I'm not afraid of doing it, but I'd understand you'd feel antsy about it"

"Of course not! We can't back down! If killing Hikari-kun is what we need to do, then we'll do it" Romi replied. She was the only one who was willing to say that, though. The other commanders averted their eyes. The lyricist pursed her lips "This can't be happening. Are you guys seriously going to let him live? If he's the culprit and we don't execute him, we'll all die! The Main Board will win!"

"…you haven't decided he's the culprit" Lilith intervened "Can you say with certainty Hikari-kun is the culprit?"

"I can't, but that's what we're here for! Come on, everyone! Let's try to prove Hikari-kun's innocence or guilt!" _And once again I_ _'_ _m the main suspect. This is the third time, isn_ _'_ _t it? Shouldn_ _'_ _t be too hard to disprove Romi-san_ _'_ _s arguments._

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Monobear File #6 / Blood on the Floor / Footprints / Shooting Incident / Lilith_ _'_ _s Actions / Bloody Monobear / Valkyrie_ _'_ _s Trench Coat_

ROMI: We know Mimori-san has been dead for a while

ROMI: Most likely, since **before the trial started**!

ROMI: And at that point, you were **the last one** to leave the Infirmary

HASEGAWA: Are you sure about that?

ROMI: I'm not sure, but if he weren't the last one…

ROMI: …there'd be someone who could **back him up**

HASEGAWA: How does that prove he may be the culprit?

ROMI: Being the last one to leave, Hikari-kun…

ROMI: …would have time to **put her on the bed** …

ROMI: …and **conceal any clues**.

ROMI: Among us he's the only one who could have done it!

HASEGAWA: You're supposing one thing, Romi-san:

HASEGAWA: That the killer and the one who carried her…

HASEGAWA: …were **_the same person_** all along

ROMI: It's a possibility!

* * *

"You're wrong about that!" Mitsuhiko protested, hitting the table with a fist "If the only reason you suspect me is because I was the last person to leave the Infirmary, then you have no reason to suspect me at all!"

"Are you trying to deny you were the last to leave that place?" Romi inquired.

"No, I don't deny that! But I didn't leave it _alone_. There was someone with me at that time. That person can back me up"

* * *

Mitsuhiko Hikari

Emiko Hasegawa

Mamoru Takayama

Akira Hosoya

Kimiko Sugita

Harumi Kayano

Tetsurou Koshimizu

Chiyo Yasumoto

Sumida Kishio

Kouhei Kobayashi

Daisuke Mitsuishi

Kumakichi Fukuyama

Hiyoko Romi

Kyrie Mimori

Yurie Oyama

Tohya Sasuga

Lilith

Monobear

Wolfenmaus

Valkyrie

Vieiras

* * *

**Emiko Hasegawa**

* * *

"Hasegawa-san left the Infirmary with me. Isn't that right, Hasegawa-san?"

The false courier looked away. "Yes, that's right"

"Why didn't you say it earlier?" Romi shouted at Hasegawa "We could have avoided all this!"

"I didn't say it because Hikari-kun isn't telling the full truth here" Hasegawa stated. Mitsuhiko didn't expect her to say that, for a moment he fumbled for words while the other commanders looked at him, expectant.

"What do you mean?!" the hunter demanded to know. This wasn't the support he had thought he'd have! What was Hasegawa doing?

"Hikari-kun returned to the Infirmary not long after we left. Are you going to deny you did, Hikari-kun?"

"Okay, that's true, but—"

"So you two think he returned to put Mimori-san back on the bed?" Koshimizu scratched his chin "It's a possibility, but it wouldn't make him the culprit. The most he'd have done is interfere with the crime scene"

"I didn't do that either! Look, it's true I returned there, but when I did, Mimori-san was still alive. She was on that bed, too! I didn't do anything"

"And can you prove it?" Romi challenged. Mitsuhiko looked around, thinking, and decided to be more or less honest.

"…yes, I can. I was there talking to Mimori-san, but I wasn't alone. There was someone else there"

"Really? Who would t-that person be?" Kobayashi sunk into his seat as if he expected Mitsuhiko to accuse him.

"Seriously, Hasegawa-san, I don't know why you suspect me. You were there! The person who got me to return to the Infirmary was…"

* * *

_Lilith_

_Mimori_

_Hasegawa_

_Valkyrie_

_Monobear_

* * *

**_Lilith_ **

* * *

"It was Lilith. Don't you remember?" Mitsuhiko showed his arm, where fresh marks made with Lilith's wires could still be visible "She caught my arm, you saw it! And so I entered the Infirmary again"

Hasegawa frowned. "…now that you mention it…yes, I remember saying something like that. I had forgotten…"

"What did Lilith and you talk in the Infirmary?" Kobayashi asked.

"She had a couple clues to give me, that was all. I left after that" the hunter placed two pieces of evidence that hadn't really gotten much use during the trials from not too long before. The commanders took those to read the contents of the sheets of paper Lilith had given him.

"Did Lilith leave with you?" Romi asked.

"No. I left alone"

"Then couldn't it be possible Mimori-san got off the bed and it was Lilith who put her back on the bed?" Wolfenmaus intervened. Mitsuhiko scowled at the Main Board member, but the other commanders seemed to be taking the suggestion seriously, judging by the way they looked at Lilith.

"It's possible…Lilith is much stronger than she looks. It would be no problem for her to put Mimori-san back on the bed" Romi said.

"Guys, no! Really? You can't be considering it" Lilith narrowed her eyes, glaring at Wolfenmaus "That guy would say anything to get you all to vote wrongly"

"Mimori-san's body had a lot of wounds from Lilith's wires. We wouldn't n-notice a few more, would we?" Kobayashi added, but Koshimizu shook his head.

"We would. I'd certainly see some were newer than others, and I can assure you there were no new wounds" he said. Lilith looked at him as if he were her savior.

"But can you guarantee it?"

"I can't, but—"

"There should be something more decisive than that" Hasegawa intervened "We can't rely on something like a supposition at this stage, we're so close to getting out of here!"

"She's right. We don't have many clues, but we have to work with what we have" Koshimizu said. _Proof that Lilith may not be the one who carried the body to the bed_ _…_ _that could be arranged._

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Monobear File #6 / Blood on the Floor / Footprints / Shooting Incident / Lilith_ _'_ _s Actions / Bloody Monobear / Valkyrie_ _'_ _s Trench Coat_

* * *

VALKYRIE: The suspect list is rather short, isn't it?

VALKYRIE: If you guys think Hikari-kun is **innocent** …

VALKYRIE: …then wouldn't that leave **_Hasegawa-san_** and Lilith as the new suspects?

KOBAYASHI: She's right. What I think happened…

KOBAYASHI: …is that Lilith dragged M-Mimori-san to the bed.

KOBAYASHI: The **trail of blood** proves it!

VALKYRIE: Wouldn't it be more likely Lilith carried her?

KOBAYASHI: I don't think so.

KOBAYASHI: There are **no new wounds**.

KOBAYASHI: Lilith couldn't carry her without leaving marks.

MITSUHIKO: But Lilith would leave marks if she dragged her, too!

VIEIRAS: Kobayashi-kun, your argument doesn't make sense at all.

* * *

"Is the trail of blood the only proof you have, Amy?" Mitsuhiko asked slowly, as if dealing with a particularly stupid child. There was a very big hole in Kobayashi's argument, one the hunter almost couldn't believe Kobayashi hadn't seen. When Kobayashi nodded, Mitsuhiko sighed melodramatically "No"

"'No' what?"

"No. You're…so wrong…" Mitsuhiko sighed. Kobayashi sometimes missed details, but this one had been so big the hunter didn't really understand how that was possible "That trail was made by Mimori-san when she dragged herself to the doorway"

Kobayashi stared at Mitsuhiko for a few seconds before averting his eyes. "…oh"

"Right. 'Oh'"

"Then Lilith didn't drag or carry the body to the bed" Romi affirmed "Then who did it? We have those footprints; do we have any way to know who they belong to?"

"They didn't have any strange shapes or weird qualities" Mitsuhiko mused "Those also were too large to have been done by Monobear, so it must have been a person"

"Let's check everyone's shoes, then!" Vieiras put their own on the table, showing the sole of their shoes. Besides dirt, there was nothing to be seen there. Koshimizu frowned.

"That isn't necessary. I know very well none of us commanders could have done it. Romi-san, Kobayashi-kun, and me are not guilty. If anything, we should focus on you three" the medic said, pointing at the three members of the Main Board. The masterminds all stared at him, as if daring him to accuse one of them.

"At least we know Vieiras didn't step on blood!" Lilith declared, having examined the soles closely. Vieiras scooted their foot back a bit, intending to kick Lilith in the face, but thought it better and sat down better.

"They could have changed their shoes after going to the Infirmary" Valkyrie said.

"I don't think so! They came with you, they shouldn't have time to-"

"Lilith, please…let's not get distracted" As Romi saw it, Valkyrie was trying to distract everyone so the examination of the shoes didn't continue "That leaves only two options: Come on, you two, show your shoes" After a pause Valkyrie and Wolfenmaus put their shoes on the table, letting everyone examine them.

Wolfenmaus' soles were still full of soot, but Valkyrie's had blood. There was no doubt about it. "Looks like we may have found the killer" Koshimizu said, rubbing the blood with his finger "It's still kind of fresh"

"Then it was her! Valkyrie, you killed Mimori-san!"

Valkyrie tilted her head. "That doesn't mean anything. All it does is place me in the crime scene, it isn't like Mimori-san got her head stomped over and over with these boots"

"You can't be serious! That's not an excuse!" Mitsuhiko shouted. Valkyrie chuckled, deriding, and wished she could take off her mask just to show the hunter how big her grin was right now.

**I WAS WAITING FOR THIS**

"I should have expected it from you, Hikari-kun. You have saved everyone else's asses so many times…I was wondering if you'd try this time too"

"Of course I would! I can't let you three kill us all just like that"

Valkyrie laughed again. "Do you consider yourself a hero? Want me to make you step down from that high horse you now have?"

High horse? Had the hunter really gotten so confident and almost presumptuous about his role in the trials? "I'm not a hero, but I can at least help solve these cases. That's what I'll do now, I'll prove you have something to do with what happened to Mimori-san!"

"Then prove it. Prove I did more than stepping inside the Infirmary" _If that_ _'_ _s what you want then I_ _'_ _ll do it! I_ _'_ _ll prove it!_

* * *

**Rebuttal Showdown**

* * *

_Monobear File #6 / Blood on the Floor / Footprints / Shooting Incident / Lilith_ _'_ _s Actions / Bloody Monobear / Valkyrie_ _'_ _s Trench Coat_

* * *

VALKYRIE: All you have is the blood on my shoes

VALKYRIE: And you know there are many explanations for that.

VALKYRIE: What if I walked in and then went out?

VALKYRIE: What if I just picked up something?

VALKYRIE: What if I had gone to check on her?

VALKYRIE: What if I went to stop someone else from doing anything?

VALKYRIE: This mask doesn't make me pure evil, Hikari-kun!

VALKYRIE: I'm not some cackling villain who twirls a moustache…

VALKYRIE: …and does evil just for shits and giggles!

VALKYRIE: If you're going to pin something on me

VALKYRIE: Then prove it!

MITSUHIKO: It's not a matter of just those footprints.

MITSUHIKO: Mimori-san was carried onto the bed…

MITSUHIKO: …if you were there, then you could have done it!

VALKYRIE: And why would I do it?

VALKYRIE: Because I was worried for her wellbeing?

VALKYRIE: Sure, let's go with that!

VALKYRIE: Unless you can prove **ulterior motives**?

VALKYRIE: No, you can't.

VALKYRIE: Instead, let's play with evidence

VALKYRIE: Is there **anything in the Infirmary** …

VALKYRIE: …that could prove I carried her?

VALKYRIE: There isn't!

VALKYRIE: And if there's nothing in the Infirmary…

VALKYRIE: …then there simply is **no proof at all**!

* * *

"I agree, there's nothing in the Infirmary" Mitsuhiko said. Valkyrie stared at him in silence before replying slowly. She wasn't fooled, obviously Mitsuhiko wasn't done.

"Buuuuut…"

"But you're wrong in that there's no proof at all. Look at yourself" Mitsuhiko pointed at the obvious bloodstains on Valkyrie's coat. She didn't even look, knowing very well what the hunter meant "How do you intend to explain all that blood?"

Valkyrie leaned her head on her fist "You tell me. How did it happen?"

"You carried Mimori-san to the bed! You found her in the doorway, you picked her up and put her back on the bed. That's how you got blood on you"

"That could work" Hasegawa said "But why would she take Mimori-san to the bed?"

"Mimori-san may have been dead when Valkyrie found her"

"Was there enough blood for her to have lost it all? It seemed so little blood…" Lilith piped up. Koshimizu, seeing the chance to make use of his expertise in the matter, turned towards her.

"Death by blood loss doesn't happen when one loses _all_ the blood. Losing 30% of blood is already enough to put someone in risk of death, and my professional judgment says Mimori-san had lost around that by the time we found her on the roof"

"So…it was unavoidable she was going to die?" Romi mutedly asked.

"Not really. She could have been saved, but without a transfusion or better care than I could provide her in this place it was bound to be difficult. That's why she died: it wasn't possible for her to receive the proper care"

There was silence for a moment while the commanders processed how grim the prognosis for Mimori-san had been, without most of them realizing it. "So we need to decide what put her on risk of death in the first place?"

"There were no new wounds that could make her lose more blood, I'd say that's what you must do" Valkyrie said, saying what was already in everyone's minds.

"Then Hikari-kun must be the culprit" Lilith reminded them, her wires settlings underneath her "It's either him or me, and it's not me"

"You have a lot of the blame too! Your way of leaving Mimori-san tied in the ceiling, exposed to the cold air, the risk of falling down if she managed to free herself, those sharp wires you have…" Valkyrie shuddered in pleasure "You'd a big player in Mimori-san's death!" the woman stood up, lowering her voice to a firm murmur, talking to everyone:

"So those are your two options: either Hikari-kun is the culprit, or Lilith is the culprit. Whose live do you value more?"

"Those can't be the only—" Vieiras started saying, but Valkyrie put her finger on their face, shushing them up.

"Of course the answer is easy. Lilith is no more than a robot. These days you can get an AI like her practically in every corner. Who cares if you sacrifice her?"

"What we feel doesn't matter, if she's the culprit then we will choose her" Kobayashi said, but Valkyrie merely laughed and ignored him.

"Besides what use will she have later? All she was made for was to be the judge in Yasumoto-san's game, and she couldn't even _start_ doing that. On the other hand, Hikari-kun…" the hunter tensed up "He has been of help all this time. You wouldn't be so ungrateful as to kill him, right?"

"If he's the culprit then we don't have a different choice…" Romi said

"Aw, that's a shame. Oh well. Not that we really care about that, right, guys?" Valkyrie looked at Vieiras and Wolfenmaus, who nodded albeit with some delay "He has been a pain for a while already. Kill him, if that's your wish"

"They both c-can't be the culprit. You're trying to get us to vote for Lilith b-because she's innocent, aren't you?" Kobayashi tried to be assertive, but he seemed to lose confidence in his words halfway. The way Valkyrie stared at him, her expression hidden behind the mask, made him shrink in his seat.

"Think whatever you want. I'm not going to give any more clues. Let's proceed with endgame. Who is guilty?

Hikari-kun or Lilith?"

_So that_ _'_ _s what they try to do._ Mitsuhiko felt something creeping on his back. As he saw it, Valkyrie was trying to use everyone's gratitude towards Mitsuhiko as leverage to get everyone to vote for Lilith and get it wrong. That meant…it was true, Mitsuhiko was the person responsible for Mimori-san's death. He was going to die no matter what, whether everyone got it right or wrong. His death seemed to be a necessary step in defeating the masterminds. Taking a deep breath and trying to suppress the nausea that was starting to invade him, he stood up. Everyone shut up, looking at him.

"G-Guys, I'm the culprit. I don't know how you guys feel about me, but if I'm guilty then vote for me. Don't risk your lives by voting Lilith"

"Hikari-kun, we're not idiots. We know we have to vote for the culprit no matter what we feel" Kobayashi muttered, looking at the hunter with pity "B-Besides, we're not exactly in love with you, I…thank you for everything, b-but you're not exactly my favorite person ever…"

"I have to agree in that Hikari-kun is not the kind of person I'd like to be with very often" Koshimizu concurred. Hasegawa nodded, while Romi stayed impassive. Mitsuhiko rolled his eyes.

"Gee, thanks, guys"

"Don't get me wrong, I find you intolerable, but that doesn't mean I'd be happy to see you die. If there's a chance you're not the culprit then I'll pursue that chance"

That kind of made Mitsuhiko feel better. He was okay with being disliked, so his only hope was that everyone was at least rational enough to not to let their emotions get in the way. It seemed that was going to be possible.

"Let's focus back on the trial. How can we know for sure who's responsible for Mimori-san's death? I think the bullet caused much more damage than Lilith did" Hasegawa said.

"That's true, it did. I examined the body and—"

"Wait, are we sure Lilith and me are the only options?" Mitsuhiko suddenly said, eyeing Valkyrie.

"There's no one else who could have caused fatal wounds" Vieiras said. The hunter acknowledged that point, smiling deviously.

"I know that"

"Without no new wounds then there's no other way Mimori-san could have blood loss—" Valkyrie started arguing, but Mitsuhiko pounced on the one way he thought the masterminds would try to defeat everyone:

"Remind me who said Mimori-san had died from blood loss?"

"The Monobear file said—oh" Romi started saying, falling silent. Of course. It was like it had happened before, hadn't it? The masterminds could have lied. If someone, most likely Valkyrie, murdered Mimori-san, they could lie to avoid the blame.

"We should stop trusting anything we see at first sight" Koshimizu mumbled.

"Aren't you overthinking it?" Vieiras said flatly, but Valkyrie grabbed their arm, instead talking sweetly.

"Oh, come on, Vieiras! They believe we would do such thing at a time like this! Don't you want to see how that works for them"

"Not really. They'll pinpoint this on you and—"

"And I say we let them try" Valkyrie opened her arms "So come on, guys! Do your best! Let's start this with a simple thing: if Mimori-san didn't die from blood loss, what killed her?" It must be something that wouldn't leave any marks of wounds…there aren't really that many options.

"It could have been…"

* * *

_...smothering._

_…_ _suffocation._

_…_ _drowning._

_…_ _electrocution._

_…_ _poisoning._

* * *

**_…_ ** **_poisoning._ **

* * *

"It could have been poisoning" Mitsuhiko said "Any poison would be undetected, and it'd be easy for Valkyrie or anyone to do it"

"It's right! And it's the Infirmary, it would be easy to cause an overdose of some sort of medicine!" Wolfenmaus shouted with excessive enthusiasm "It's so obvious I can't believe none of you guessed it before!"

"…y-yeah! That's exactly what…what I mean" Mitsuhiko smiled sheepishly, his confidence taking a sudden drop. It didn't go unnoticed to the Main Board, Valkyrie pounced immediately.

"Since you brought the theory then it should be your responsibility to prove it. Show me proof Mimori-san could have been poisoned"

"Like Wolfenmaus said, there are medicines and—"

"I said ' _show me proof_ _'_ , 'not make wild assumptions'. Geez, Hikari-kun, did you come this far just to fail at the last leg?"

"You have proof, don't you?" Wolfenmaus pressured. The hunter stared at him before averting his eyes, noticing the way all the commanders were looking at him.

"I don't" he admitted.

"Hikari-kun! Are you sure about this? We were all in the Infirmary but I don't think anyone noticed missing pills or medicine" Hasegawa whispered. Mitsuhiko furrowed his brow, ashamed.

"I see. Uuuh…well there are other possible causes of death!" _Damn it! I should have thought it twice._ Trying to not to let his blunder break his influence over everyone else, Mitsuhiko reconsidered the options.

* * *

_...smothering._

_…_ _suffocation._

_…_ _drowning._

_…_ _electrocution._

_…_ _poisoning._

* * *

**_...smothering._ **

* * *

"Mimori-san could have been smothered" Mitsuhiko said "It would leave no marks, and I don't think any of us would realize that's what happened"

"You're not entirely mistaken, but I'd like to think I would notice if Mimori-san was smothered" Koshimizu said, narrowing his eyes.

"Couldn't Mimori-san be strangled?" Romi asked.

"No. Mimori-san was rather weak due to the loss of blood, but I'm sure she'd struggle. The culprit would have left marks on her neck"

"Right! Smothering...what was used for that?" Hasegawa inquired.

"I don't know! Her pillow was the weapon, for all we know" Mitsuhiko hurried to reply. Something in his tone made Lilith narrow her eyes.

"Are you making theories without proof again, Hikari-kun?"

"...eeeh...it's just a suggestion..." Mitsuhiko started saying, but the people around him didn't have patience for that.

"We really need proof! Hikari-kun, you realize that if you don't prove there's another possible cause of death besides the bullet you shot hours ago then you'll be voted as the killer, don't you?"

"I know! I'll think of proof"

"If Mimori-san was smothered then something soft and large enough to cover her mouth and nose" Romi reminded him "Was there something like that in the Infirmary besides her pillow?"

"There wasn't" Koshimizu said. That was it, the burden of proof rested on Mitsuhiko. It was the end. The Main Board were careful in controlling their reactions, staying silent and with their arms crossed to avoid revealing anything through their body language. Vieiras broke the silence, sounding extremely stoic:

"I don't know how you guys got to the point where you're accusing Valkyrie for this death, but I'm tired of it. Let's end the discussion with one last session of debate, then we'll proceed with the voting" Koshimizu opened his mouth to argue "There's no grounds for discussion. It's our final word" The medic closed his mouth. Lilith wasn't going to stay silent, though.

"Just one last debate? How do you expect them to achieve something in one try?"

"They have been showing enough confidence in their theories! So go ahead, guys. Find out what you think could have been used to smother Mimori-san, or back off" Wolfenmaus extended his hand "Let's start!" _This is it. Endgame. If it can be proven Valkyrie smothered Mimori-san then it_ _'_ _ll happen here. I should take it calmly; we can_ _'_ _t afford to make a mistake._

Here we go.

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Monobear File #6 / Blood on the Floor / Footprints / Shooting Incident / Lilith_ _'_ _s Actions / Bloody Monobear / Valkyrie_ _'_ _s Trench Coat_

* * *

VALKYRIE: Do you guys really think I did it?

KOSHIMIZU: I'm not convinced Mimori-san was smothered.

ROMI: Why?

KOSHIMIZU: There were **no signs of asphyxia.**

KOSHIMIZU: It's true it's extremely difficult to prove...

KOSHIMIZU: ...someone was smothered, but...

KOSHIMIZU: ...I'd know if she died from asphyxia. She didn't.

KOBAYASHI: C-Couldn't there be a way to do it...

KOBAYASHI: ...without leaving those signs?

KOSHIMIZU: No! That's impossible!

KOSHIMIZU: Besides, there were **no objects**...

KOSHIMIZU: ...that could have been used.

KOSHIMIZU: I examined it all and I found nothing suspicious.

KOSHIMIZU: Without a weapon, without signs of asphyxia...

KOSHIMIZU: ...it's impossible to say she was killed that way!

* * *

So that was what should be done. Mitsuhiko hesitated before bringing it forward, because...as much as he hated to admit it...he could be wrong about it all, and if he was, then everyone would be doomed. I must be right; it must be true... "There's something that could have been used"

"Seriously, Hikari-kun?" Koshimizu looked at him skeptically "Nothing in the Infirmary could have been used. I examined it all and I'm pretty sure of what I'm saying"

"It may have been something brought from outside the Infirmary—"

"'It may have been', you say. This is no time to be saying 'it may have been'!"

"It's here in—"

"Enough, Hikari-kun!" Koshimizu hit the table with both fists. Mitsuhiko had been about to bring up the bloody Monobear Valkyrie had been carrying around, but even he realized it was very flimsy evidence at best. Discouraged, Mitsuhiko shut up, thinking it all over. The rest of the commanders continued the discussion.

"Are you sure she wasn't smothered, Koshimizu-san?" Lilith asked.

"I'm very sure of it!"

"Can you _guarantee_ it?"

"G-Guarantee it?" Koshimizu shook his head in exasperation "I can't! Who do I think I am, the demon forensic worker? I'm just a doctor, I'm not even a coroner! But I know enough to distinguish when someone died because they were asphyxiated"

"Is it even in the realm of possibility?" Wolfenmaus inquired. Koshimizu opened his mouth, but didn't say anything for a moment.

"...I guess it's not impossible for Mimori-san to have been smothered, but we can't go overboard with suppositions, and the reason why you're all thinking Valkyrie may have done it is because she has blood and because you're paranoid about the Monobear file"

"She already admitted she carried Mimori-san to the bed! That should explain the blood" Vieiras intervened. Valkyrie was silent, leaning on the back of her seat and watching everything as if she wasn't the one getting accused.

"...I hate to admit it, but I may have gone in a stupid tangent" Mitsuhiko said "It...it may not have been her..."

"A-Are you saying you're the culprit?" Kobayashi whispered to him.

"No, I'm not saying that! What I'm saying is that maybe I'm wrong and—"

"But you have brought to our attention Valkyrie was there! It's either you or her, and you proved it" Hasegawa pointed.

"I know what I said! I know I proved that! I-I'm not saying Valkyrie couldn't have done it. I just ask you all to let the proof talk by itself. Don't vote for a culprit because we want Valkyrie to be it! If you're not convinced it's her, then vote for me!" In Mitsuhiko's opinion, it was time for some damage control. He may have gone a bit overboard in pointing the finger at Valkyrie, and Koshimizu had made him realize it. As bad as it sounded, he was the most likely culprit, not her.

All he hoped was that no matter what was voted, it'd be correct.

"So now what? We had only one chance to prove Valkyrie was the culprit, and we pretty much wasted it" Hasegawa said.

"Then there's nothing to be done. It's over" Wolfenmaus stood up "We'll start voting now!"

"Now? I don't even know who I'll be voting for!"

"We should be okay as long as we vote according to the evidence. Come on, we can do it! We'll be okay" Romi encouraged, but her sweating showed she herself wasn't feeling entirely confident about it all. A sense of dread started piling in Mitsuhiko's chest, he was starting to have a bad feeling about it all.

Valkyrie stood up, her voice sounding light and cheerful. "Let's start the voting! Remember the stakes: pick the real culprit, and we lose! Pick the wrong person, and you'll have ruined everything you worked for. So let's start this already! Hey! Kobayashi-kun, you first!"

"M-Me? Uuuuh..." Kobayashi looked between Mitsuhiko and Valkyrie. After a moment of silence... "Valkyrie. She's the killer"

Valkyrie didn't seem bothered by having one vote against her. The next person was Mitsuhiko. "Hikari-kun, vote"

Mitsuhiko browsed all the evidence in his mind, everything that had happened. If he trusted the cause of death shown in the Monobear File to be true, then he was the killer. That was the question, did he believe it? "I vote for myself. I'm the culprit"

Everyone looked at Mitsuhiko as if he had gone crazy, but no one protested. Valkyrie giggled, playing with her wig, carefree. "How daring. Koshimizu-san, your turn"

"...I'm sorry, Hikari-kun. You're the safer option here" the medic sentenced, closing his eyes. Despite not liking Mitsuhiko, he didn't want him to die, especially after being of so much help all this time.

"That makes two votes against the hero. Hasegawa-san! Our dear outsider! Who do you want to see dead?"

"Valkyrie" the courier answered immediately "You guys must have lied with the file; you were in the Infirmary...it must be you"

Vieiras and Wolfenmaus whispered to each other, no commander was able to distinguish what they were saying. Valkyrie stared at the courier for a moment before turning towards the last person. "Romi-san, it's all up to you. It's a tie, you'll be the tiebreaker. Who killed Mimori-san?"

"Damn it, why did you guys have to leave it up to me?" Romi murmured. She clenched her fists, this was far from being something she ever wished to do. The lives of everyone were on her shoulders now, unless somehow neither Mitsuhiko nor Valkyrie was the culprit, but that was unlikely. "I need time—"

"There's no more time! So say it already. Who is the culprit?"

"I...the killer is..." Romi was sweating profusely. She wasn't used to feeling so nervous, either. Everyone looked at her, almost breathless, awaiting for the name that'd seal the fate of everyone. Romi took a deep breath and answered:

"Valkyrie"

The name was dropped like a rock. No one said anything, the silence was thick. Just when Mitsuhiko thought that maybe it was all fine, he heard laughter. It was soft, devious, and completely unwelcome. It was coming from the Main Board, from all three of them. When the Main Board noticed they were being watched, it turned into louder and louder, until it was full-blown cackling, highly reminiscent to how Monobear used to laugh. Mitsuhiko didn't move, astonished. "...what...?"

"I can't believe it! After all this time, you guys really blamed me for Mimori-san's murder!" Valkyrie managed to shout in middle of her laughter.

"Y-Yes, of course we did! Because it's right!" Kobayashi replied, but that seemed to get Valkyrie to laugh more. Vieiras, once they calmed down a little, stood up.

"You five managed to screw up what should have been a sure win. How you managed to do it...I don't know, but you did! Idiots!"

"What are you trying to say?" Lilith curled up threateningly, her tendrils starting to extend towards the Main Board.

"I'm saying that you got it wrong. The culprit, the person responsible for Mimori-san's murder, actually was Hikari-kun! How could you think anything else other than the bullet wound could have caused the exsanguination?!" Vieiras sounded in disbelief and amused at the same time. It was as if they were twisting a knife in everyone's morale.

"But we thought you may have lied through the file..." Romi murmured, eyes wide open.

"I can't believe it. This is a travesty" Koshimizu growled. His face was getting red, he stood up and faced the Main Board "So now what?! What will you bastards do now!?"

"The rules are clear: if the culprit manages to kill and gets away with the crime despite a trial..." Vieiras started, and Wolfenmaus finished the sentence:

"... _the culprit wins the game_ , and everyone else is punished"

"Wins the game?! Are you saying that—"

"That's correct! Congratulations, Hikari-kun! You're the winner of the contest! And as for your prize..." Valkyrie shrugged "At this point I bet you won't want it, will you?" Mitsuhiko didn't reply, too astonished by the result of the trial to say anything "Oh, stop staring at me like that! You'll be free! Sure, everyone else will suffer horrible, horrible deaths, but you'll be free"

"We're going to get executed?!" Hasegawa had gone pale, she seemed about to run towards the door of the Meeting Room.

"Of course you will. Those are the rules" Wolfenmaus said.

At that point it all devolved into an uproar. All the commanders except Mitsuhiko started shouting, arguing about the outcome of the trial, the Main Board replied calmly, with indolent tone of voice. It was useless to try to change their mind, and so everyone realized, so instead it all turned into challenging the Main Board to try to uphold the rules. There was no way the three of them would manage to kill four, would they?

And amidst all that, Mitsuhiko could only stare forward. He was going to survive. He had 'won the prize', which didn't matter now, no way he'd join the Main Board and risk getting the AI implanted into him. Everyone else were going to die. All the effort, all the pain they had gone through along the rest of the contestants, it had all been for naught, and he was going to be the only survivor.

In the end, he'd be the only survivor. Diavolos Avante was as good as ruined, the Main Board would get away with the mutual killing game, and there was nothing he'd be able to do.

Slowly, he felt despair invading him.

The only other person that didn't join the uproar was Lilith. She had gone silent, glaring dangerously at the Main Board. Her wires were both approaching the Main Board...and the vent on a side of the room. The Main Board did notice the wires on the floor, and each time Lilith tried to grab their ankles they stepped aside.

"Enough of this already!" Wolfenmaus roared, walking towards the door of the Meeting Room. The three Main Board members had taken out a remote with a button, holding it high in the air. Everyone interpreted it the same way: it was the button to everyone's executions "Shout all you want; you can't change the fact you just lost! Too bad!"

"He's right" Lilith shook her head with dismay "You guys failed. You're going to let them go"

"Come on! This can't be what we deserve!" Kobayashi shouted, but Lilith made him fall to the floor by moving his chair.

"Shut up. We had an agreement, commanders: as long as you managed to win, I wouldn't take action"

That was true, now that Mitsuhiko thought about it. So now Lilith was going to do something? "What will you do?" the hunter inquired.

"...I'm going to kill them"

"And how are you going to do that?" Vieiras didn't sound worried at all, slowly getting to the door where Wolfenmaus was waiting.

"Last Bastion directive" Lilith replied. The wires that weren't trying to entangle the Main Board connected to the wires awaiting in the vents. As soon as it did, something sounded in the superior floors. Cracking wood, bricks falling down, the noise of walls being crushed like paper cups. That's when Mitsuhiko realized it:

The wires all around the building, the way it had blocked doors and windows. If Lilith was in full control of all those wires, would it be too much of a stretch to think...

The building shook more. Something over their heads started to make noise, it sounded like something was being crushed. The building was being demolished, crushed by the pressure of the wires, trying to make it fall down over everyone inside. It was true, the Main Board was the objective, but Lilith wasn't going to try to save anyone either.

How does one save oneself from a building cave-in?

The sudden noises got the Main Board to take everything much more seriously than they would have otherwise. Any gleeful demeanor they had was gone. They glanced at the ceiling and each other before Wolfenmaus and Vieiras closed the doors of the Meeting Room. The commanders, having realized what those two had done, hurried to try to get them open, but it seemed they managed to lock the doors before possibly running away.

Valkyrie, realizing she was left behind, moved very slowly towards the doors. "Wouldn't have expected otherwise from myself, haha...they abandoned me...of course..." she sounded like she couldn't believe it, her voice was wavering. Was she about to cry?

Koshimizu stepped aside from the doors, getting to Lilith. The noise intensified. "Lilith, stop it! You're going to kill us all!"

"It's my mission. I should have done this much earlier" Lilith replied, twitching her wires. A more resounding crushing sound echoed this time from the sides, Lilith was managing to shake the walls near the foundation of the building.

"No! This is-stop it!" Hasegawa approached and shouted too. This time Lilith ignored them, focused on completing the task. It was close to being finished, after all.

The next ten seconds were confusing for Mitsuhiko. He had been there, too shocked to move, looking around and trying to see any possible way out, any solution or anything that could stop the building from caving in. Suddenly, Valkyrie, who had gotten behind him, whispered to his ear.

"...looks like we...we're going to be left behind, Hikari-kun...hahaha...

**_We may be the only survivors_** "

Mitsuhiko didn't even have time to register what he had just heard. Suddenly, Valkyrie grabbed his neck and threw him onto the floor. The hunter's face hit the edge of the table, stunning him further and leaving him on the brink of unconsciousness. The last thing his brain registered was Valkyrie crawling under the sturdy wooden table and dragging him with her...

...as well as the cataclysmic noise of the building of the Delacroix, School for the Gifted and Talented falling apart all around them and over the table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Game over. Mitsuhiko Hikari won the contest. Mass execution has been executed, albeit by a third party.
> 
> Only the epilogue is left.


	47. Epilogue: Gaze Into the Abyss

The first thing Mitsuhiko felt when he woke up was a sharp pain on his forehead. He groaned loudly, reflexively touching his face. He was sure by now he'd have a large bruise all over his face, judging by how much it hurt.

There were more important matters to worry about other than the pain on his face, though, and he remembered it immediately. His eyes snapped open and at the same time he tried to stand up, his head immediately colliding against a hard surface. That didn't help make the situation any better. Now aching both from his face and the back of his head, Mitsuhiko looked around.

It was very dark. Mitsuhiko could barely distinguish his surroundings, but from what he could see...he was under wooden remains. All he could see around him was rubble. "Did I...survive...?" He was extremely lucky he didn't get crushed. The table was destroyed, but there was a rather sizable empty area around him, large enough for him to crawl around. Just a few millimeters from his head heavy bricks and other construction materials had fallen, crushing the table. He certainly was lucky to be alive.

There were muffled noises coming from somewhere above. "H...Help! Someone!" Mitsuhiko shouted. It didn't seem he was heard. Feeling rather weak, Mitsuhiko crawled around until he found something unusual.

On a side, some of the rubble had been pushed aside. There was a tunnel towards the outside. It looked like it'd hurt to go through it, but it was a way out. Now that he thought about it...Valkyrie had grabbed him and dragged him under the table, hadn't she? Did that mean she had escaped through this hole? Had she made it? Not wanting to stay around mulling it for any longer, Mitsuhiko started dragging himself through the tunnel.

It took quite some time, and by the time he got out he had got abrasive wounds over several places. His clothes were in tatters; it was a rather pitiable sight. The sun was high in the sky; he had spent many hours unconscious. "...someone...help us..." Mitsuhiko tried to shout, trying to get the attention of anyone nearby, but all he could do is say that softly.

"What? There's someone here! Someone is alive!" an unknown voice sounded from somewhere among the ruins of the Headquarters. Mitsuhiko tried to clear his head and look around, but it hurt too much. A pair of people got to Mitsuhiko and immediately supported him in case he was going to faint. The hunter wanted to say something, but all he could do was look downwards while the rescuers started escorting him away.

He didn't remember much after that. The next he remembered was lying down in what seemed to be a hospital room. The hunter stared at the ceiling. He felt...rather empty, blank. What happened to everyone else? His partners, the Main Board...did they survive too? Did they get out before Lilith crushed the building? He tried to muster fury, the will to stand up and seek for answers, but he simply couldn't. All he felt was the nagging feeling of despair welling inside him.

The door of the room opened and someone entered. Mitsuhiko turned his head around and immediately sat up in surprise despite his aching head. The blue hair, those red eyes...She felt familiar to him. Where had he seen her before? "How are you feeling, Hikari-kun?" the woman asked, sitting nearby.

"...I don't know. Where am I?"

"You're in a Future Foundation building. Our scouts found you while they were investigating the collapse of the Diavolos Avante headquarters, so you were brought for healing and interrogation. We're trying to piece together what happened" she said. The Futurrre Foundation...they may have found out Hasegawa had gone to the Headquarters. That may have been why they went there. If the Future Foundation had arrived a day before...so many things could have been avoided...

The woman seemed kind. She hummed for a moment. "I didn't think you'd get involved in something like this, Hikari-kun. Do you remember me?"

"I think I have seen you before..."

She smiled. "You were never the overly sociable type. We were in the same class in Hope's Peak, remember? I'm Ogata. Akane Ogata, remember now?"

That name was familiar too. It was good to have a name to link the face to, although Mitsuhiko didn't fully remember who she was. High school was so long ago, and he had tried so hard to leave it behind... "Oh. Right" Mitsuhiko tried to muster concern over his partners "Have you...found other people in the headquarters?"

"Other people? You mean survivors?" Akane inquired, receiving a nod as response. She looked away "No. It seems you're the only survivor of whatever happened there"

That did elicit a reaction from Mitsuhiko. Slowly, he felt dread and anxiety growing. "I can't be the only one who survived..."

"We found several bodies near where you were. Four in total"

Four. So it was true...none of the commanders had survived. Koshimizu, Hasegawa, Kobayashi, Romi...they had died at the last moment, after living through the rest of the contest, and it was partly his fault. He had been the one to bring up the possibility Valkyrie was the culprit. IF he hadn't, then no one would have thought it was an option, right?

Akane continued: "We also found several buried corpses. Some seemed to have been buried for longer than others"

Right, Mitsuhiko remembered having found Sugita's body. "Really? Was there anything...strange about them?"

"Not really. They all died in many ways, but we noticed around half of them died from a shotgun blast to the chest or the back. Do you know anything about that?"

"No, I don't think anyone died from—" Wait a second. A sudden thought crossed his mind. He listed the names of the culprits and how they died in the executions, asking Akane if the bodies matched those descriptions. Akane furrowed her brow.

"It's impossible for any of them to have died that way. That's odd..."

"But we saw their executions! It was there, in the screen, and—"

"A screen? Did you ever consider it could be false videos?"

False videos? That was exactly what Mitsuhiko had just thought. If no one had died the way it was shown in the executions then what was that? It matched how some details didn't match in the supposed places they were executed. Hosoya's execution was the main discrepancy, there was no way those spikes were in the wall. "The Main Board lied. They made us believe those executions were real..."

"Who are the Main Board?"

Mitsuhiko didn't answer to that yet. Now that the Main Board had been mentioned, his mind had immediately considered what'd happen to Diavolos Avante now. With Veritas dead, those three would have free reign to twist the organization to spread despair. Junko Enoshima was sly and clever, and the AI, despite being a prototype and deeply flawed, surely had enough of Enoshima to be able to give a bit of that same cleverness to the three masterminds.

Stopping them was priority, but how...?

Akane, sensing Mitsuhiko wasn't going to answer yet, instead changed topics: "We found something else, and it's puzzling us. It looks like some kind of robot?" That got Mitsuhiko to snap out of his mulling "It's a weird robot, the head looked like a girl but the rest was made of wires. Do you know anything about that?"

"...Lilith. That's her name" Mitsuhiko felt like throwing up. Lilith was responsible for the other survivors' deaths. Lily had been the culprit for Yurie's death. That robot girl – and Sasuga, by extension – was the one to blame for the deaths of the people he cared about.

"Right. Our experts are analyzing her! It seems her creator had a lot of skill, but we have the support and work of the best people we could find. We believe through her memory bank we could find out what happened in the Headquarters"

Mitsuhiko turned his head around immediately. "What do you mean?"

"Robots are tricky machines. They need to store information for future use, the more advanced, the more information they need to work properly. We have good reasons to believe she registered everything she saw, heard and knew"

That was it! That could work! If Mitsuhiko could have access to that information, maybe he could...maybe the Main Board wouldn't completely get away with their crimes! He could stop them on their tracks! "Ogata-san, I need to see everything! Please, let me see what they found!"

Akane frowned. "I don't know, Hikari-kun, you should rest as much as you—"

"There's no time for resting! If they got away – if they're all alive – then they need to be stopped! I must do something!

Show me what Lilith has recorded!"

-ooooo-

Of course, the raw material wasn't good enough. Akane, Mitsuhiko and a couple Future Foundation technicians watched the videos and the audio. Mitsuhiko mostly needed stuff from the very last trial, that was what mattered the most. That had their confession, the Main Board's admittance of their crimes and how Veritas died...it was all there!

It took a while to blend everything found into a cohesive video. It was long, but its content was explosive and very revealing. Mitsuhiko watched it from start to end. He should be feeling relieved there was a chance to stop them, that it wasn't all _completely_ in vain.

Yet he still felt disturbingly empty.

"...I can't believe you went through all that, Hikari-kun...I'm sorry for what happened to your friends" Akane was trying to be compassionate, to provide support, but the hunter ignored the nuances of her words, instead nodding.

"It doesn't matter now. They're dead, what does it matter?"

"It matters a lot! Because you survived, that's good!"

"Right" Mitsuhiko took out the disc with the video to present "Ogata-san, I'll need a way to transmit this to a lot of people worldwide. Can you provide me what I need?"

"You? Are you sure you should do that?"

Mitsuhiko looked at her. "I won the contest. The reward was a spot in the Main Board. Veritas is dead, and the rest of the Main Board ran away.

It could be said I'm the new leader of Diavolos Avante"

"Oh. You're right about that, and with that video no one will listen to Valkyrie and the others..." Akane started to walk away. "I'll help you in any way I can"

-ooooo-

The hardware was set. A camera aimed towards a blank wall. Mitsuhiko took a deep breath, preparing himself for the grim news he was about to deliver. Uncertainty hung in the air, both Akane and Mitsuhiko hoped he'd be taken seriously by everyone who'd watch the transmission. Doing it before the Main Board had the chance to lure anyone from Diavolos Avante into following them was a vital action, and if they didn't do it, then who would?

"Are you ready?" Akane made sure the camera was focused while Mitsuhiko sat in the chair. The chemist connected the camera to a computer, ready to broadcast the video once Mitsuhiko told her to.

"As ready as I can be"

"We'll be live in ten seconds. Good luck" Akane sat in front of the computers. Soon the camera beeped and a red light turned on. It was showtime.

Mitsuhiko cleared his throat loudly, staring directly to the camera. "Hello, everyone. My name is Mitsuhiko Hikari, and until not so long ago I was no more than a commander in Japan. Now I'm the defacto leader of Diavolos Avante" Mitsuhiko didn't seem happy at all to bear that title. He paused for a moment, letting everyone who was watching to process what they had just heard. Once he considered it had been enough time, he continued.

"You may be wondering why I'm calling myself that. It's a long story, and you'll hear the reasons for that. First than all, you must hear about this: Veritas is dead. He was murdered by Wolfenmaus, and both Valkyrie and Vieiras were accomplices in that. Not only that, fourteen other commanders and a civilian were murdered, and the Main Board are responsible for that too.

You may have heard about games of mutual killing..."

Mitsuhiko started telling everything he remembered. The invitation, the commanders that took part of the contest, Monobear and Lily's roles. He described the tension, how they had to be on the lookout for corpses and victims. He narrated the first trial, and how the Main Board, controlling Monobear, made a show out of Yasumoto's death.

One by one, each day that had happened was recounted, announcing all the details he could think. The Main Board's false hostage video, Veritas' kidnapping, all the evidence they had found.

He also told how Sasuga, Yasumoto and Hasegawa tried to gather proof and reveal the Main Board's corruption, what the Enoshima AI's role was in all this, and how they all had found the leader of Diavolos Avante shot to death.

Finally, he informed of Vittoria's death and how it all led to Veritas taking a lot of bad decisions.

The video created with Lily's memory bank information was also broadcasted. Everyone around the world saw the Main Board wearing the masks, saying how they had done everything, and finally, how they had sentenced to death all the survivors, even though they weren't the ones to ultimately cause everyone's demise.

"I survived out of sheer dumb luck. The Main Board's location is currently unknown, but there's something you must keep in mind: they'll want to manipulate you. They're not the people we used to know. Their brains have been affected by the Enoshima AI, and if they get in contact with you, all they'll want to is to use you to create despair.

And since Veritas is dead and the Main Board has betrayed us, I have taken the prize they were giving the winner of the contest: a spot among them. I'm the only Main Board member left. I denounce Valkyrie, Wolfenmaus and Vieiras as traitors, and...

...I also declare Diavolos Avante is over. We can't continue on"

Saying that was like dying. He had sacrificed his life to become part of Diavolos Avante, and now without that organization he was aimless. Not only that, he was the one to officially kill the organization. His emotions were starting to return, tainted by despair. A profound sadness made him choke for a moment, trying to find the words to continue.

"Again, don't let yourselves be deceived by them. You saw the proof; you saw all they did...

I'm not going to force anyone to leave, or do anything about Diavolos Avante being dead, but remember that, if you want to continue our activities, if you want to pursue the positions of power we seek and achieve the cleansing of despair we were working for, you're alone on that. We can't provide any help.

You're on your own"

The transmission ended. Once the light of the camera turned off, Mitsuhiko slumped forward, staring at his shoes. There. He had officially buried the organization. Whether the rest of Diavolos Avante believed him, or decided to work by themselves, that remained to be seen.

"We're done, Hikari-kun. You did well" Akane said, turning off the computers.

"...I feel so strange...I never thought I would...ever do something like this..."

"I think it's normal. How about you tell me more about yourself later? We can go somewhere, drink something..." Akane approached, getting Mitsuhiko to stand up "You know, reconnect as friends! After all these years there must be a lot for us to talk about"

The hunter let himself be led out of the room, still staring at the floor. "...I'm a failure. I had helped them, and at the last moment, they all died. I could have done more. I gave them the idea that led to their deaths"

"You're not a failure, Hikari-kun"

"I am! Don't try to convince me it's not partly my fault" Mitsuhiko seemed rather firm about that point, glaring at Akane "Be straight with me: am I a failure?"

Akane pursed her lips, trying to think a reply that wouldn't piss off Mitsuhiko any further. It took a moment to decide to say something "What matters is what you'll do, not what you did"

Mitsuhiko stared at her "You're trying to avoid the subject" Akane opened her mouth to say something else, but he waved his hand dismissively "Forget it"

"Let's work together. We'll need your help, Hikari-kun! Kudo-kun had passed us a lot of information about the Main Board, but it'd be good to confirm with you a few things. With your help, we can catch them and stop them!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! My friends and I are working hard at that. My partner Yukio will brief you about what we need. Look! He's back" Akane and Mitsuhiko had reached the lobby of the building where a pair of adults were entering. Mitsuhiko didn't know the man, that must have been 'Yukio', but the woman that was with him...Mitsuhiko recognized her.

Vittoria.

It seemed like time had stopped. Mitsuhiko stared at Vittoria. She was older, looked a bit different, but he recognized her. The way she walked, the way she spoke without using any contractions at all, the honorific she used often, there was no way he was deluding himself.

The more he was sure that was Vittoria, the angrier he felt. It was her. She was the cause of everything. How could she be _alive_?! How did that happen? What was going on?!

Mitsuhiko didn't realize he had stomped all the way to where Vittoria and Yukio were until he heard Vittoria's voice. "Hikari-shi? Is that you?" Vittoria looked very pleased to see Mitsuhiko, but he didn't feel the same. He was conscious of his actions now. He started running, his face contorting into an expression of intense anger. "What's goi-?" Vittoria wasn't even able to finish the sentence before Mitsuhiko tackled her.

They both fell onto the floor. Mitsuhiko tried to grab Vittoria's neck, strangle her, but Yukio held him back, albeit with a lot of difficulty. That didn't stop Mitsuhiko from shouting, though. "How can you be alive?! Do you have any idea of what you have caused?!"

"H-Hikari-shi, I can explain—"

"Your uncle thought you were dead! We all thought you were dead! Where have you been _all this time?!_ _"_

"Calm down, Hikari-kun!" Akane had arrived and was helping Yukio to drag him back. Vittoria watched from the floor, astonished and fearful. Mitsuhiko kept roaring, demanding explanations.

"He made so many mistakes because he thought you were dead! It's your fault! DeeEy is ruined, _and it_ _'_ _s your fault_! W-What's wrong with you?! Vittoria!"

Yukio and Akane got Mitsuhiko to the door. Yukio practically pushed the hunter into the hallway, making him trip. "What happened to him?"

"I'm sorry, Yukio, I didn't think he'd snap like this..." Akane tried to excuse herself, but Yukio shook his head.

"It's fine, just...keep him under control. I know he went through a lot but that's no excuse to assault other people" Yukio said before going back to the lobby to make sure Vittoria was okay. Frowning, Akane escorted Mitsuhiko away.

"I think you should take a rest. I'll take you to a bedroom" Akane said dryly, walking in front of Mitsuhiko. The hunter clenched his teeth, still feeling the anger from seeing Vittoria.

"How's it possible? All that happened was because Veritas thought she's dead! Did she pretend she was dead? What _excuse_ does she have to having done that?!"

"That's something you shouldn't be concerned about. Don't harass her about it"

"You don't get it! I mean it! That was the cause of it all!"

"I'm not saying it wasn't, but you won't get anywhere by throttling her" Akane opened the door of a bedroom, but it seemed she couldn't just let Mitsuhiko inside before saying something in a slightly kinder tone "I don't have all the details, but Yukio seems to have kept her survival a secret. After he got her acquitted for the murder in Kyoto...she wanted to run away and leave behind that life. I think that's why she pretended to be dead"

"...there could have been much better ways to do that"

"I'm sure there are, but—"

"Why is she back now?!"

"The Main Board is still at large. We're going to need all the help we need. Yukio contacted her and got her to return to help us, but...to be honest..." Akane looked from side to side of the hallway "...she's also a suspect. She could be Valkyrie or Vieiras, don't you think?"

"I..." Mitsuhiko stared at a corner, thinking. Could that be possible? It sounded impossible! Someone in DeeEy would have realized the woman known as Valkyrie or the person of unknown gender named Vieiras was Vittoria. Everyone knew how Vittoria looked like and how she talked!

...but despite that, Mitsuhiko couldn't really reject the possibility. "...maybe. I don't know"

Akane crossed her arms. "We have all under control, but let me ask you something:

Can we count with your help? Will you aid us in capturing those three?"

Mitsuhiko nodded immediately. "I will. I won't rest until all three aren't a threat anymore. I promise you that". He meant that in every sense of the word, but Akane didn't catch onto the subtle meanings. Instead she closed the door of the bedroom behind her and sat on the bed.

"Then let's start with a simple request! Tell me everything you know about those three. Their talents, their personalities, everything you can think"

That was it. This was the start of Mitsuhiko's last stand, and his legacy as the last leader of Diavolos Avante. He'd establish a collaboration with the Future Foundation, and get rid of despair at one of its sources. He'd help them find Valkyrie, Vieiras and Wolfenmaus, and neutralize those threats.

And once that goal was reached...

...well, he'd cross that bridge once the time comes.

Mitsuhiko sat beside Akane. "The Main Board always used codes to disguise their identities, but it was known they came from different parts of the world. Volkos represented Asia, and his death is what opened the spot to the other commanders and I. The rest of the Main Board members hailed from other continents..."

And so he started telling everything he knew.

**Part 2: Diabolical Contest of Mutual Killing**

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just like in the first part of the story, there are a few extra pages to show! Like before: Free Events, extra executions, and thoughts about everything.


	48. Extras: Unused Executions

Diabolical Meeting of Mutual Killing was more restrictive in terms of what could happen, at least in comparison to Graduate Meeting of Mutual Killing. There were two characters whose roles were decided from the beginning, and therefore didn't have any executions written. Mitsuhiko is the prime example of that, for reasons that'll be explained in the notes to be posted in the future. Yasumoto is the only other character without execution, it was always defined she'd be the first victim.

It may be worth remembering the executions presented to the participants were videos created by one of the Main Board members for the purpose of obfuscating the fact the culprits merely got shot and buried away.

Here's the rest of the executions, written before the story had gone farther than the planning stage:

* * *

**Emiko Tanaka / Emiko Hasegawa / Shizuka Hasegawa-Nakai, no available title**

**Truth Seeker**

Emiko is placed in the center of the Back Courtyard, on one of the sports courts. It's night outside, the only light coming from what could be a spotlight placed in the last floor of the building, illuminating Emiko.

The courier's wrists and ankles are chained to the ground, making her hunch over. Surrounding her, there are shotguns aiming at her chest and back, and a large clock at the edge of the spotlight's span, right in front of her.

Slowly, something descends from the last floor, hanging from a hook. It's an envelope, garishly marked 'THE TRUTH' in bold letters. Emiko glares at the envelope, not believing how tacky and clearly condescending that was. The clock on the edge of the light sounded, activating. Emiko had only one minute to reach the envelope.

Emiko tries to fight against the chains, trying to lift an arm, the chain is strong, but a creaking sound emanates from the bolt that ties the chain to the ground. Emiko stares at it for a moment before pulling harder, dislodging it a bit.

It takes half a minute, but Emiko manages to dislodge both her arms and tries to reach towards the envelope, just for the hook to ascend higher, just far enough from Emiko. She can barely touch the envelope with her fingertips. Having only ten seconds left, she tries to dislodge the bolts of the chains that keep her feet on the ground, noticing only her left leg could be loosened.

During her struggle to liberate her right leg, the time runs out. The clock starts chiming, bells tolling, and the shotgun shoot, killing her immediately.

* * *

**Mamoru Takayama** **–** **Protective Demon**

**The Perfect Bodyguard**

There's a strange mannequin, dressed in Veritas' clothing and sitting in the chair in Veritas' office. Takayama was to its side, staring forward and sweating nervously. He knew it was an execution, what he didn't understand was how it'd go.

Suddenly, the doors of the office are kicked open, showing a couple dozen Monobears, each one holding different weapons. None of them seem to be paying attention to Takayama, instead focusing on the Veritas mannequin and advancing slowly. Guns pointed towards the false Veritas, while the Monobears that held blunt weapons and different types of blades advanced.

Feeling that the mannequin's "death" would trigger his own, Takayama got in middle of where the bullets would go, brandishing the first few objects he could take. The guns fired and Takayama managed to block each one with thick books from the shelf, slowly advancing towards the door. None of the advancing Monobears were paying attention to him, so all he had to do was disarm and kick them away towards the hallway. Soon he also started to use the caught Monobears to hit those that dared to walk into the office, and held at bay any further projectiles that could go. Once the Monobears were thrown into the hallway and disarmed, Takayama closed the doors, holding them from inside. None of those tried to sneak back in.

A noise behind him got his attention, though. There was one Monobear left, still advancing towards the mannequin, holding a knife. Takayama moved immediately and tackled the Monobear, neutralizing the threat and turning his back towards the false Veritas while he made sure the Monobear wouldn't move again.

That was his mistake. Takayama didn't notice the mannequin slowly getting off the chair and approaching until he was behind Takayama. Before the bodyguard could react, the mannequin reached with its hands and twisted Takayama's head, snapping his neck and killing him immediately.

* * *

**Tetsurou Koshimizu** **–** **Medical Demon**

**Malpractice**

Koshimizu is strapped to a flimsy gurney in the Infirmary, his head being the only part of his body he could move. He's covered in bedsheets, giving the gurney a rather comfortable look. Monobear approaches, dressed as a doctor. He grabs Koshimizu's head, looking into his eyes, mouth and ears before nodding and placing on the bed a comically large bag full of tools. Monobear took out of the bag a large hand drill, a hammer and a ridiculously big clamp, which he used to hold Koshimizu's head completely still, forcing him to stare at the ceiling. After making sure Koshimizu couldn't move his head, Monobear took the drill, turned it on and slowly moved it towards Koshimizu's forehead. The medic could only stare while it approached closer and closer.

A sudden garbled call sounded from afar, forcing Monobear to look towards the source of the sound. Sighing, Monobear turned off the drill and walked away, not before loosely placing a pillow under Koshimizu's head and without removing the clamp. Monobear left the Infirmary, leaving Koshimizu still strapped to the gurney.

Mere seconds after Monobear left, an odd squeaking noise emanated from the gurney's frame. Koshimizu's eyes looked to a side, unable to see what was going on. The frame of the gurney breaks, the flat surface turning onto a side, the pillow and bedsheets falling to the floor, before the gurney's surface fell over, pressing Koshimizu down, his face falling directly on the pillow.

Unable to move due to still being strapped, and having his head immobilized and weighted down by the heavy clamp, Koshimizu dies by being smothered against the pillow despite his struggles and attempts to get away.

* * *

**Sumida Kishio** **–** **Linguist Demon**

**Lost in Translation**

Kishio is sitting on a table in the fourth floor offices, with her hands on her knees. After a moment for her to notice where she is, two Monobears appear, wearing thick helmets and padded jackets. One of them slams a box on the table, covered in wires and with a timer. Kishio's pupils turned into pinpricks once she realized a bomb had been placed right in front of her. The timer starts counting down, and one of the Monobears takes a pair of small scissors while the other analyzes the bomb.

The one with the scissors asks a question in an obscure language, but the other Monobear seems to not to understand it and responding in a different language, too. Kishio translates it for him, receiving the watcher's instruction to pass it to the handler. Kishio does obey, passing the instruction, but the handler tilts his head in confusion, distorting the response when asking for clarification. Kishio corrects him, shouting, but Monobear instead asks another question, this time the observer not pretending not to understand what Kishio translated.

During the minute that follows, there's a frantic back-and-forth between the three, Kishio getting more and more angry and scared while the Monobears pretend not to understand a thing. The less time left in the timer there is, the closer they move the bomb towards Kishio.

When there are only a few seconds left, both Monobears throw their hands in the air in mock exasperation, the handler pushing the bomb into Kishio's lap, and then they run away. Kishio doesn't even have time to push the bomb aside before it explodes, killing her.

* * *

**Kouhei Kobayashi** **–** **Magical Demon**

**Better than Houdini**

Kobayashi is standing on the Lookout, right behind the balustrade. In the courtyard, there are many Monobears clamoring his name. Kobayashi, having been dressed with his best clothes, is approached by a couple Monobears, wearing similar suits as if they were his assistants. The assistants drape him with chains, a couple straitjackets and a thick woven rope, while Kobayashi has no other option than to stand completely still and let the Monobears do their part.

Once Kobayashi is completely immobilized except for his legs, he stands on the balustrade, looking at the public of bears in the courtyard before letting himself fall forward. Kobayashi is left hanging upside-down from the Lookout. He struggles, starting to get free from everything that's holding him down.

One by one, the chains, jackets and rope start falling down, Kobayashi moving vigorously to get rid of everything. The more he got free of, the more his body moved, inverting his previous position.

Only when he breaks free of the last obvious restrain he realizes the Monobear assistants had tied his hands together and made a noose that would only kill him once all the other restraining objects are gone. Kobayashi hangs from that noose, unable to free himself, and dies hung to death from the Lookout.

* * *

**Daisuke Mitsuishi** **–** **Flying Demon**

**Aerial Scouting**

Somehow, an old-looking plane was placed on the highest point of the roof. Mitsuishi is nearby, flanked by Monobear dressed as a flight officer, indicating Mitsuishi to get into the plane. The pilot hesitates, eyeing everything with wariness, but yields when it's obvious he has no other choice. Mitsuishi gets onto the seat, trembling slightly. The glass dome closes around him while he gets his hands onto the controls.

Soon the plane is rolling forward on the sloped roof, gliding away when it reaches the edge. Mitsuishi manages to steer it, trying to guide the plane towards the rest of the city. It could be a chance to escape! Before he could even fly over the fence buzzing sounds get his attention. From the ground, several smaller planes with frontal propellers, remotely controlled by Monobear, start flying around him.

The planes manage to force Mitsuishi to keep the plane in the Headquarters school terrains, leaving him quite cramped between the building and the edge. Mitsuishi flies around the Headquarters a couple times, until Monobear's planes start ramming onto his. None of Monobear's planes seem to be suffering any damage, but Mitsuishi's plane gets dented with every hit, starting to fall apart.

Knowing that, if this continued, the plane would be destroyed in no time, Mitsuishi activates a seat ejector, getting launched with the seat. The seat stops in the air before its parachute gets activated, and the pilot gets a moment of calm before Monobear's planes continue the assault, just that this time, instead of ramming onto the plane, the logical progression is that they'd attack Mitsuishi himself, since he's defenseless and in the air.

Transmission ends just before all the planes' sharp frontal propellers collide against Mitsuishi.

* * *

**Hiyoko Romi** **–** **Lyricist Demon**

**Freestyle Rhyming Challenge**

Romi is standing on the Theater stage, facing a single Monobear with a remote in front of him. There's a large chest full of trinkets and objects to Monobear's side. He rummages in it, taking out a metronome and placing it aside, activating it. The metronome starts ticking while a bland tune sounds in the background.

Monobear instructs Romi about the purpose of the game: start composing for as long as the tune lasts, using the objects he tosses at her as the last word of a line, making sure to create a rhyme for that.

The game starts. Monobear starts tossing objects at her, naming each one due to her lack of eyesight, and while Romi has some difficulty creating rhymes on the fly, she barely manages to do it and follow the metronome's rhythm and the tune's cadence at the same time. The tune continues for a few minutes, she starts to get tongue-tied and looks rather unsure of what she's saying.

When the tune starts dying, reaching its end, Monobear reaches in for the last object and demands a last rhyme. He tosses an orange to Romi, she catching her and immediately claims that's cheating. Monobear stares for a moment, shakes his head and presses the button on the remote, opening a trapdoor under Romi. The lyricist falls to her death, the death itself unseen for the commanders.

* * *

**Kyrie Mimori** **–** **Journalist Demon**

**The Scapegoat**

Mimori is at the Fourth Floor offices, sitting on a chair. All around her, pasted to the walls, there were posters and similar materials that said the same accusation over and over.

_Kyrie Mimori is Valkyrie._

The journalist stood up, looking around frantically, expecting to see something about to kill her. Suddenly, the lights went out, but on the screen Mimori was still visible, spinning and looking around in confusion.

A few seconds later, the lights returned. Near the walls there were at least a dozen of human-sized mannequins, all of them curiously dressed and modified to resemble the commanders. The lights turned off again, remaining off for another few seconds before turning back on. The mannequins were closer.

The process repeated again and again, quicker and with much less time for Mimori to react. No matter where she moved, the mannequins always moved towards her when it was dark, and the posters branding her as Valkyrie kept increasing.

At some point, during the blackout, the mannequins reached Mimori. A strangled scream sounded before it was silenced, and this time through the darkness no one could see Mimori. When the lights turned on, her grim death was shown she was suspended from the ceiling, hanging from a noose. The mannequins representing the commanders were gone.

* * *

**Yurie Oyama** **–** **Hacking Demon**

**Curiosity Killed the Hacker**

Yurie is seated in the Administrative Offices. The environment is much darker than usual, the light of the computers being the only source of light. Yurie slowly walked towards one of the computers and looked at what was there.

Seemed to be a rather complicated browser, depicting many folders and files. Yurie seated, exploring and trying to discern what the purpose of it all was. It didn't take long for her to realize what she was watching: it was similar to the network from when she had retrieved the prototype Enoshima AI.

An email client opened without Yurie indicating she wanted it. The hacker stared at the screen. Of course it was an execution, but how was this going to kill her? Feeling it was obvious what she should do, Yurie dragged the file depicting the prototype AI onto the email client. She didn't notice the three people silently approaching from behind.

Just after Yurie pressed 'Send', six hands with fake red nails sprung from the darkness, grabbing her throat and face. Yurie didn't even have time to scream before the hands pulled her back, strangling her and doing everything they could to keep her silent. It wasn't long before Yurie died, strangled by those hands.


	49. Extras: Unused Free Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this sure took a very, very long time. Based on the notes and first-draft paragraphs I wrote for myself before starting to write this story, I have created the unused Free Times that didn't appear in the story. As you may see, some would have worked as rather...clear hints of what was going on, but I left most of them aside because I felt it'd be too straightforward.
> 
> Here is this. After 54 pages in Word, it's finally finished.

**Emiko Tanaka / Emiko Hasegawa / Shizuka Hasegawa-Nakai, no title**

**Number of remaining Free Time events: One**

Emiko stared at the closed Fourth Floor offices door. She grabbed the handle and shook the door as if she expected it to unlock it. She looked like she hadn't expected a way to open the door in the first place, and hit the wood with her forehead. "We should have been more careful"

"Why are you like this, Hasegawa-san? I don't think the answers you seek are behind that door" Mitsuhiko leaned against the wall. He pitied Emiko, but not enough to bother to be kind. The false courier glared at him.

"The Main Board are behind these doors. I could have forced any of them to tell me the truth, being from the Future Foundation has perks when it's about interrogation methods"

"There are three of them. I don't think the other two would have stood aside while you waterboarded any of them. You're just jumping headfirst into danger"

"But it's here! The truth is so close! I just want...I want to know who to blame for..." Hasegawa went silent, looking at the door pitifully. Mitsuhiko didn't say anything, pursing his lips, before sighing and approaching Emiko.

"Come with me, let's drink something. You need it"

"...thank you" Emiko followed Mitsuhiko all the way to the Kitchen, where the hunter made a cup of tea for her. She sipped it, feeling the resentment and despair she had kept suppressed for so long. She needed to talk about everything that was bothering her, all the guilt and the helplessness...

"Hikari-kun, last time I saw my sister...it was when I was just a teenager. That was fifteen years ago. I...I didn't even say goodbye to her. I felt so betrayed, I packed some of my things and ran away from home"

"Seems like kind of an overreaction to me" Mitsuhiko said.

"You think it was? I was just a teenager; I didn't know any better" Hasegawa stared into her cup "It took me several years to decide to return, by then my sister had turned famous. Ginchiyo...I looked for her for so long...every time I arrived where I thought she was, she had left not long before. I tried calling her, but they never let me talk. I once even wrote to her, and all I got was an autographed photo.

For a while I thought she was doing it on purpose...that she was trying to avoid me! I thought about giving up, and for some time, I did! Not too long after that, the world ended. Stupid Enoshima" Emiko scowled "Of course, that made it much harder to try to get to Ginchiyo. I got worried something could happen to her, that rioters would murder her or that...that she could join them. So I continued searching. I joined the Future Foundation to have some sort of help, but they weren't interested in helping me. What could I do?"

"Keep searching" Mitsuhiko had a hard time empathizing with her. Maybe it was because he never had siblings, he wasn't sure how one was supposed to feel towards them.

"You make it sound so easy! Yeah, I kept searching, and then...the news of her death arrived. She was killed in a bunker somewhere in the city, and...I felt like the ground had opened beneath my feet" Hasegawa's voice was trembling "I didn't understand, how it was possible that I would never tell her...tell her that I was sorry, I wanted nothing more than hearing her voice again! To work with her, to...to be her sister once again. I wanted to tell her I loved her..."

"I'm sure even in her last moment she thought of you" that had sounded better in his mind. Emiko looked at Mitsuhiko, aghast.

"I hope not!"

"Why?"

"Because the last thing she should have been thinking of is about her stupid sister" she said, clutching the teacup tighter.

"You're not stupid. I don't know what made you run away, and I won't ask you to tell me, but you were no more than a teenager. We all were stupid at that age"

"Even you?"

"Even me. I left Hope's Peak and joined DeeEy, tell me if that wasn't stupid" Mitsuhiko smirked. That seemed to work, Hasegawa laughed for a moment. A bit cheered up, Hasegawa left the teacup aside.

"I want nothing more than answers, but...I don't know what I'll do once I get them. I think at this point I'm looking for them just to feel better. It isn't really about searching the truth, or about doing something in Ginchiyo's honor...

...it's about finding peace for myself. It's selfish, but that's how I feel"

The hunter approached and awkwardly placed a hand on her shoulder. "I don't know how I can help you, but if you ever need someone's support, well, I could give it to you. I'll help you"

"You're nice, for someone who makes a living shooting people to death" Hasegawa grabbed Mitsuhiko's hand and took it off her shoulder "I'll think about it, but I feel this is something I must do alone. Besides, you already did something for me. I really needed to talk about it, and someone to listen. I feel better already"

"Oh, that was nothing"

"Well, that 'nothing' is what I needed. Look, let's wait until this all is over and then we'll see where it goes from here, okay? We could even be friends, if you're willing to give me a chance. For now, let's focus on getting out of here"

"We can be friends, starting _now_ " the hunter blurted out before he realized what he had said. Hasegawa stared at him, surprised, before grinning.

"I'd like that. Friends, then?" she extended her hand. Mitsuhiko didn't hesitate to grab it. Since he had said it, may as well see where it leads, right?"

"Yes. Friends"

Emiko squeezed Mitsuhiko's hand with excessive strength before letting go, laughing. Despite the throbbing pain in his fingers, Mitsuhiko noticed he was smiling too. Sure, it could be nice to be Emiko's friend. She wasn't that bad, and although she was a complete outsider regarding DeeEy, it was never said one had to keep all of one's friendly relationships inside the organization. "So, why don't you tell me about yourself, Hikari-kun?"

Mitsuhiko served himself some tea. "Let's see, where to start...?"

_We spent a long time discussing our life stories._

* * *

**Mamoru Takayama, Protective Demon**

**Number of remaining Free Time events: Two**

Takayama was in the Electronics Workshop. Since the door was wide open, anyone could enter, besides it wasn't like Takayama was working on something reprehensible. He had strewn around the tables a lot of microphones and small useful machines, examining the insides with expert eye. When Mitsuhiko entered, he had just left a microphone aside.

"What are you working on?" Mitsuhiko asked, putting his elbows on the table. Takayama didn't look at him, focused on his work.

"I'm trying to turn these microphones into transceivers. Shouldn't be too hard to keep an eye on everyone if I can direct my voice through these"

"...so you're turning into some sort of stalker? First you say you're going to listen to all of us, at all times, and now this"

Takayama glanced at Mitsuhiko for a moment, annoyed. "It's for everyone's well-being, asshole. It's worth it. Besides someone died already, I...I failed"

"Are you blaming yourself for Yasumoto-san's death? Really?" Why to blame himself? It wasn't like Takayama could have predicted it.

"The reason I put these around in the first place was to keep tabs on everyone's actions. I should have been able to do something! Not doing anything is what leads to my charges dying" Takayama froze for a moment, realizing what he had just said. He hurried to add something else "Not that anyone under my protection has died. Don't misinterpret my words"

Mitsuhiko raised one eyebrow. "Are you sure no one has died under your protection?"

"Completely sure! Now leave before I have to drag you out myself"

"I don't feel like leaving. Come on, Takayama-kun, you can tell me. It isn't like I couldn't find from other sources if I really wanted to find out" Mitsuhiko knew he was acting rather rudely, at the very least, but what Takayama had said had piqued his curiosity "You think Mimori-san could find out more, for me? She could"

That got Takayama to turn around. He pointed a finger at Mitsuhiko, stopping just a couple inches from the tip of the hunter's nose "Stay away! It's none of your business!"

"So who died? Was it your fault? Did a killer or someone get through you?"

"I said I won't talk about it!" Takayama roared, hitting the table. Mitsuhiko, noting maybe he had pushed too far, started to back off. The bodyguard didn't wait for the hunter to leave, though. He started stomping towards Mitsuhiko, forcing him to walk faster towards the door.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to hear the details! How was I supposed to know you were touchy about it?" Mitsuhiko feigned his best offended face. He had known very well what he had been doing.

"Because it's common decency, you prick!"

"I was just questioning how fitting you are as a bodyguard. Is it _that_ difficult of a question?"

Takayama reeled his fist and raised it. Mitsuhiko recoiled, ready to try to stop the fist if Takayama tried to punch him, but instead the bodyguard grabbed the door of the workshop and slammed it closed. Mitsuhiko stared at the panel at the side of the door, he wouldn't be able to enter even if he wanted.

There was something he hadn't expected, though. Right before the door closed, Takayama had said something else. While there had been a lot of noise, what with the door slamming, Mitsuhiko was rather sure he had heard correctly. It really was the opposite of what he had thought Takayama would have ever said.

"He died because _I_ killed him, okay?!"

_I spent an hour waiting for Takayama to leave the workshop before giving up for the day._

-ooooo-

It was almost midnight.

Nothing had happened regarding the microphones. Whatever Takayama was trying didn't yield any results, as far as Mitsuhiko knew. It was possible Takayama had managed to succeed and simply didn't tell anyone.

The hunter had also acquired the annoying habit of sitting in the Lounge to wait for Takayama to leave the workshop. The first time Takayama opened the door and saw Mitsuhiko sitting there, he closed the door and didn't open it at all. Mitsuhiko left after a while. The same thing happened during the next few days. Takayama would slightly open the door, just enough to peer at the couches, and not come out if Mitsuhiko was sitting there. The bodyguard practically lived inside the workshop, bringing all his food in there. Mitsuhiko suspected he even had his sleeping bag in there.

This night Takayama got fed up. Once he opened the door and saw Mitsuhiko there, he groaned loudly and stepped outside. "What do you want?! Don't you ever get tired of harassing me?! Are you planning to kill me or something?!"

The shouting had been half-expected, but Mitsuhiko still froze when Takayama did it. "So? Say something already!" the bodyguard insisted, tapping his fingers against the frame of the door. Mitsuhiko exhaled loudly.

"I wanted to apologize for egging you on last time"

"You want to what?" Takayama seemed more confused than angry.

"I should have closed my piehole, shouldn't I? So I wanted to say sorry. That's all"

Takayama stared in silence for a moment. "And you stalked this door for several days just to say you're sorry?"

"Well, yeah! You were avoiding me everywhere else. It was either doing this or sneaking into your room while you sleep"

"...I don't know if I should be really creeped out by your dedication, or feel sorry for how pathetic you seem to be right now" Takayama mumbled, pushing his glasses up his nose. It took him a moment to nod "Alright, apology accepted. Stop watching this door like a sniper"

"Sorry, that's something I'm used to" Mitsuhiko smiled hesitantly. The apology had been accepted, anyone would have left by now. Why was he sticking around, then?

"Good, stay dedicated like that and DeeEy's mission will be completed soon" Takayama said. Both men shut up, looking around awkwardly. Mitsuhiko stood up, and started to slowly go towards the hallway to the staircase.

"Takayama-kun, did you really kill someone you were supposed to protect?" he asked once he was nearly there. It was an impulsive moment, if he had thought it twice he wouldn't have said a word. Takayama narrowed his eyes and for a moment Mitsuhiko thought the bodyguard would close the door again, but instead Takayama opened it further and stepped outside of the workshop.

"No. _I_ didn't do it. It was an _accident_. Technically, I'm not responsible for what happened"

That didn't sound nearly as bad as Takayama had made it sound last time. Mitsuhiko didn't ask for clarification, though. If Takayama was willing to talk about it, he'd say more. Just as expected, he did. "I feel responsible because it was my duty to protect him, make sure he stayed alive. It's even worse that I felt something was wrong, but instead of checking everything again, I ignored that gut feeling. How was I supposed to know he was going to slip and hit his head against the corner of the desk?"

"...that does make you the one to blame for his death, if you ask me" Mitsuhiko said "You didn't do your job well enough"

"Gee, thank you. Your opinion is just what I needed in these tiring times" Takayama rolled his eyes "I don't want to give you more details. I don't feel comfortable telling this to someone who is no more than an acquaintance"

That wasn't surprising at all. Takayama and Mitsuhiko had spent most of their time at odds with each other, he wasn't going to start spouting everything just like that. Mitsuhiko shrugged. "I wasn't expecting you to do it. You told me more than I thought you ever would"

"...yeah" Takayama started descending the stairs "So I feel it's my duty to work as hard as possible. I can't just stand aside and let murders happen. Yasumoto-san was killed, and although my work was important evidence, no one should have to die"

"Don't you think you may be taking too much responsibility for this all?"

"I won't stand aside and let anyone die! You better not tell me to stop" Takayama glared at the hunter "So what if it's going to be hard? I'll try"

"...okay. Just don't overexert yourself. An exhausted bodyguard won't be good for anything"

"Yeah, I know. Thank you, I guess" Takayama started walking away and waved without turning back "See you tomorrow. Also, stop staking the Lounge, that's creepy"

Mitsuhiko didn't reply. If Takayama wanted to be left alone, then Mitsuhiko would obey. In a way, he was glad someone was working so hard to try to stop the murders. Mitsuhiko didn't know if it would work, or if it'd be all a waste of time, but part of him hoped Takayama would succeed.

* * *

**Akira Hosoya, Con Artist Demon**

**Number of remaining Free Time events: Three**

Hosoya seemed to be very bored. He was in the Cafeteria, with his head between his arms and staring blankly at the wall. He wasn't moving, and for a moment Mitsuhiko thought someone had poisoned the jerk and left him there. When he got closer to make sure Hosoya wasn't dead, he turned his head and greeted. Mitsuhiko wasn't amused, he really disliked Hosoya.

"If you're so bored why don't you look for some way to make yourself useful?"

Hosoya rolled his head on the table. "Oh, I will, Hikari-kun! Don't worry about that"

Mitsuhiko crossed his arm while Hosoya smirked pleasantly. Both men stared at each other for a moment, neither saying anything, until Hosoya raised his head from the table, looking at the hunter with something resembling amusement. "I'm not sure where to start, though. What would you do?"

"I'm not going to hold your hand and tell you what to do, if that's what you want"

Hosoya's expression wavered, he struggled not to drop the smirk. "That isn't what I mean. It's just that it's hypocritical of you to tell me to do something, if you don't even try to make an effort too. How about you get off your high horse and help too?"

"I said no. Get going already"

The smirk vanished. "Then let's go. I'll follow your lead. You call the shots, okay?"

Mitsuhiko grit his teeth. "No. Stop looking for excuses and get going already!"

Hosoya stared at Mitsuhiko for a moment before standing up, sighing. He seemed to be rather depressed now, but instead of going outside of the Cafeteria he went deeper, to the Kitchen. Mitsuhiko followed him, and found Hosoya leaning against the kitchen table. "How's the investigation going?" the hunter asked waspishly.

"I'm not doing it. I'm not good with investigations, or with thinking"

"And you're going to let that stop you?!" Mitsuhiko really was losing his patience with Hosoya. Why was he bothering to try to tell him to investigate? At this point Mitsuhiko turned around to leave, but before he did he heard Hosoya mutter something else.

"And I'm not good for conning people anymore, apparently. Whatever"

That didn't stop Mitsuhiko from leaving. All Hosoya did after that was groan.

-ooooo-

Hosoya had proven to be rather useless, in fact, he could be even considered counterproductive to the investigations. While he hadn't tried to sabotage the rest's efforts, the way he didn't bother to take anything seriously diminished the group's morale, making everyone feel rather annoyed and in bad mood. No one wanted to be in the same room than Hosoya, too.

It could be said Hosoya was the most hated commander in the place.

Hosoya didn't seem to care at all, he kept going on like usual. Every time someone looked at him with distrust or dislike he grinned, although no one could say for sure he was enjoying it.

At some point Mitsuhiko unwillingly ended in the same room than him. All Mitsuhiko had wanted was to eat something before returning to his room, he didn't ask to find Hosoya in the Kitchen. The con man was there, dressed like usual in his disturbing childish attire. Grimacing in chagrin at being in the same room than him, Mitsuhiko opened the fridge, intending to get out as soon as possible.

"Hikari-kun, can I ask a question?"

Hosoya seemed almost serious when asking that. Mitsuhiko wasn't in mood for treating him with consideration, though. "Spit it out quick"

"Everyone hates me, don't they?"

"Of course they do. You haven't exactly endeared yourself to anyone"

"...thought so" Hosoya seemed genuinely tormented, Mitsuhiko hadn't expected him to turn his face away and sound so disheartened.

"What, are you the most loved person in your district or something?"

"No. I don't think I have been appreciated since I was...in high school" Hosoya tilted his head "That was so long ago. I don't know what I'm doing wrong"

Mitsuhiko narrowed his eyes. He was expecting Hosoya to start laughing or mock Mitsuhiko for listening to his bullshit, but Hosoya didn't do anything like that. It didn't fully convince Mitsuhiko, after all, this was a known conman. He would be perfectly capable of lying and trying to get sympathy. "You're doing so many things wrong I don't even know where to start"

"What do you mean?"

The hunter thought for a moment before nodding. There was one way to put it: "When I think about you, I can't think of not even a single redeeming quality"

Hosoya flinched as if that had been a punch. "But I haven't done anything wrong! I don't...that's enough. I don't want to talk about it anymore"

"See? Look at yourself! You're recoiling because I told you you're a major jerk. Grow up, will you?" That definitely was what was wrong with Hosoya, in Mitsuhiko's opinion, he simply hadn't grown up at all.

"I don't _need_ to grow up! What good would that be for? Since when does anyone _trust_ an adult? I just can't—I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but I can't bluff or lie well enough anymore" he grimaced "It's like I'm losing my skills"

Mitsuhiko was silent for a moment, he wasn't sure he understood where Hosoya was getting at. "What do you mean?"

"Look, children are trustworthy, aren't they? When you talk with them, you don't doubt them like you would if you talked to an adult. Heck, even teenagers are trustworthy, more than adults. I think that's what's wrong with me"

"...you aren't saying what I think you're saying, are you?"

"I don't wear these clothes for fun, Hikari-kun" Hosoya pulled from the fabric of his shorts as if it was something gross "I try my best to give a childish image. Should help to get other people off-guard, right?"

Mitsuhiko could only stare, eyes wide open, gasping silently like a fish. When he finally found the words he was looking for he said them without thinking "There's _so much_ wrong with you. Do you even know what you're doing?"

"...I'm not doing so badly"

"First than all, you haven't acted like a child at all. Second, even if you did, it'd be _disturbing_! You'd be trusted even less! And it'd be a stupid thing to-seriously, _grow up already_!" Mitsuhiko turned around and walked out of the Kitchen without looking back, leaving Hosoya stunned.

-ooooo-

Being stuck in the cell was so, so boring. Sure, it was a classroom, but as long as Mitsuhiko couldn't leave did it matter? The most he could do was stare through the window.

"Hey! Hikari-kun! Are you there?!"

A voice sounded from the right. The hunter peered out of the window. The window was too narrow, but he could get his head out...barely. It was very uncomfortable, but maybe Yurie was going to tell him something important.

He wasn't amused at all to see Hosoya's head peeking from two windows away. "What do you want?!" Mitsuhiko shouted. This was going to be practically broadcasted to everyone in the vicinity, he hoped Hosoya would restrain himself from embarrassing himself or Mitsuhiko.

Hosoya looked towards the distance. "I wanted to thank you for what you said to me the other day!"

"...what?" That was not what Mitsuhiko expected to ever hear from Hosoya.

"I do need to grow up! I guess I wanted to hold onto my past success! Did you know I started scamming when I was eight years old?!"

"...no, I wasn't aware of that!"

"It seemed to be so easy back then! It all went okay up until high school, and I...I think I was proud of my work! Way too proud!" Hosoya smiled wryly "I wanted it to continue being that easy!"

"But it wasn't!"

"No! I wasn't very good once I turned into an adult...I think! You know what?! Once I return home I'll change my clothes and stop clinging to that!

Thank you for making me realize it!"

Mitsuhiko shrugged. "Yeah, fine"

"That's all! I'll see you later, Hikari-kun! I don't want to shout all this in a public place like this one!"

"...you already did. You literally announced it loudly to everyone!"

Hosoya didn't seem particularly bothered by that. "My bad! Thank you!" Hosoya returned into his cell and closed the window, Mitsuhiko soon following his example. It was good to know Hosoya would stop being like he was, and was going to strive to improve in some way. While Mitsuhiko doubted he'd ever consider Hosoya even more than an annoyance, and it was doubtful anyone else in the building would give him another chance, the hunter hoped Hosoya would be fine once they all managed to defeat the masterminds' game.

Everyone deserved a chance to improve, after all.

* * *

**Kimiko Sugita, Tea Demon**

**Number of remaining Free Time events: One**

Mitsuhiko was in the offices when Sugita entered, carrying with her a cup of fresh tea. She left it aside him and sat nearby. "Hikaru-kun, I...I want to ask you something"

"What is it?" Mitsuhiko didn't even look away from the screen.

"Once this is all over I want you to come with me"

"Come with you? Where?"

"Back home. Hikaru-kun, let's all quit together. You, me, Sasuga-kun and Oyama-san, let's all quit and return home"

That got Mitsuhiko to look at her. Sugita looked rather amicable, smiling nostalgically. "I...why do you want that? We have nothing back at home to return to. The world ended, Kimiko!"

"I know, but...if the four of us are together I think we can survive. What's important is that we leave DeeEy, there's nothing left for us in this organization"

"You can quit if you want. You don't need my authorization, if that's what you're looking for"

"Hikari-kun, look at me" Sugita grabbed his shoulders and looked straight into his eyes. In her mind, he was still her childhood friend and someone she wanted to see happy "Can you look at me and say with complete honesty that it's worth it for us to stay in DeeEy?"

"...I—Kimiko, I—"

"Can you?"

Mitsuhiko's mouth formed a thin line for a moment. "I can't"

"Then let's all quit! We'll all have a new life. We'll carve our own path, and survive all together. We can do it. I'm sure you'll be able to convince Oyama-san, she loves and will follow you to the ends of the Earth. What do you think?" Sugita smiled hopefully, letting go Mitsuhiko's shoulders.

The hunter looked away, scratching his head and ordering his thoughts. It was actually rather tempting! He wasn't sure he'd convince Yurie to leave Diavolos Avante just like that, but he trusted her enough to know that she'd stay with him despite his decisions. There were no drawbacks, why not? Why was he hesitating so much? "...thank you, Kimiko, but I can't take this decision right now"

"What? Why not?!"

"Because this isn't over yet" Mitsuhiko said "I want to know where is Veritas. We all owe him a lot, and I can't retire from DeeEy until I can be sure he's okay. It's our duty as his subordinates"

"Hikari-kun..."

"Maybe you don't feel the same because you came to DeeEy looking for me, but that's what I feel"

Sugita pushed the tea closer to Mitsuhiko. "I respect your decision...and I think it's admirable you feel loyalty towards him. I don't know if I can help you"

"You can, don't doubt it. We could use your help"

"...I'll think about it" Sugita stood up and made Mitsuhiko stand up as well, pulling from his arm. After staring at him for a moment she enveloped him in a tight hug, almost crushing his ribs. Mitsuhiko, caught by surprise, gasped, but after a moment of hesitation he hugged back "You'll always be my friend, Hikari-kun. I want you to know you're my best friend, and I want the best for you.

Thank you for everything"

"Thank you, Kimiko. You're my best friend too" Mitsuhiko murmured, squeezing her tighter. They held each other for a minute before letting go, the hunter hurriedly wiping away the tears in his eyes, a tad embarrassed. Sugita pretended not to have seen that.

"Good luck with your investigations, Hikari-kun. I'm rooting for you!" Sugita said before leaving the Administrative offices, looking back while crossing the doorway. Mitsuhiko sighed, contemplative. _I_ _'_ _ll...I_ _'_ _ll accept her offer. Once this is over we_ _'_ _ll all return home, Kimiko. We will._

* * *

**Harumi Kayano, Dancing Demon**

**Number of remaining Free Time events: Three**

"What are you doing? This is no time for dancing"

Mitsuhiko had heard strange noises in direction of the Theater, so after making sure he had his gun, in case it was a trap, he entered. Inside, there was Kayano, standing on her tiptoes on the stage and moving gracefully. When the hunter interrupted her, she turned her head around and approached the edge of the scenario. "It's _always_ a good time for dancing"

"No, it isn't! This is literally not a good time for dancing!" Mitsuhiko narrowed his eyes "Have you forgotten what's going on? We're trapped in this building to kill each other. You should focus on trying to find answers, or a way out"

"Don't scold me, Hikari-kun. Dancing is not merely an art, it's a way to reach out to the universe" Kayano moved her head from side to side, making the pearls in her hair rattle "There's no moment I feel more peaceful than when I'm dancing. I need it to stay calm. Don't try to take it away from me"

"...oh. Well, I can't argue against that" It was true that staying calm was important, Mitsuhiko couldn't protest to that.

Kayano stepped around for a bit more, doing large strides, before extending a hand towards Mitsuhiko. "Here, join me and let's dance together"

"M-Me? Dance? I don't know to dance" Mitsuhiko recoiled as if Kayano had just offered to push him into a vat of acid.

"Aw, don't be so shy! You don't need to know how to dance. Let me teach you" Kayano got closer to the edge again "All you need to do is follow me, and you'll be fine"

"I'm not in the mood to dance"

"Fine, don't join me" Kayano stood on her toes, stretching her arms as far as possible "Did you know there's no better way to know a person than dancing with them?"

"...I don't see how dancing would help at all" Mitsuhiko crossed his arms, but Kayano ignored his skepticism.

"Dancing is not only a way to reach out to the universe, it's a way for a person to communicate what their soul is made of. For example, look at me" she moved slowly, carefuldly "What conclusions do you get from watching me dance?"

 _The only conclusion I have is that you should be asking Yasumoto-san about this, not me. I_ _'_ _m not a psychologist_! "No conclusions at all"

"You're not even making an effort! I insist, give it a try"

Mitsuhiko looked at her move, trying to think of something to say. "You're nimble and...you like to make sure all your moves are exactly like you want them to be"

"Nice start! Yes, you're right. This means I'm calculating and plan my next few actions before even starting them" Kayano spun quickly, startling Mitsuhiko "Keep talking"

"Uh, you, you're also prepared to move in unexpected ways"

"Yes! That shows how flexible I am, both in action and in thinking. It'll be hard to catch me off-guard, I'm sure no one would be capable of doing that. See?"

"I beg to differ" Mitsuhiko gave her a condescending look "Hunters work by catching their prey off-guard. I'm willing to bet anything I could do it"

Kayano smirked. "How daring...it's tempting" she got off the stage, approaching Mitsuhiko with determination "I'll tell you what, let's play a game: you have 24 hours to "kill" me" She even made air quotes with her fingers.

"" Kill" you?" Mitsuhiko imitated her air quotes "I don't get it"

"Try to catch me off-guard. If you can perform an action that'd lead to my death, you'll win. If not, I win" Kayano shrugs "It's playing, not really murder"

"You're giving me a perfect excuse to murder you, you know"

"I insist you wouldn't be capable of killing me"

"Whatever" Mitsuhiko would be lying if he said the game wasn't tempting "What are the stakes? Bragging rights?"

"Is there anything else we can bet?" since Mitsuhiko didn't reply, Kayano closed her eyes, satisfied "Now you see. This is no more than a game to earn bragging rights. Do you accept the challenge?"

Mitsuhiko didn't even hesitate. "Of course I do! You're going to eat your words"

"...hohoh...you're just my type, Hikari-kun. If Oyama-san didn't exist I'd claim you for myself" Kayano opened her eyes and walked to the door "Remember, the game starts in an hour. Good luck...you'll need it" she said with a wink, leaving Mitsuhiko a bit stunned.

What did he get into now?

-ooooo-

Mitsuhiko grabbed tighter the handle of the gun. He had been following Kayano for a while already, and the dancer didn't seem to notice him. She hadn't even turned around, walking as if she didn't have a dangerous hunter following her. Kayano was staring at the hallway stone statues, as if appraising them, while Mitsuhiko continued planning. Carefully, he crouched until he was close to the floor.

The plan was rather simple: he'd wait for Kayano to descend the stairs. Once she got to the lobby, Mitsuhiko would pretend to shoot, throwing a small ball of paper as strong as he could, simulating a bullet. An impact would mean a death; he would aim to her head. The fact Kayano hadn't given any signs of noticing him didn't mean she hadn't noticed him, though. It was likely it wasn't going to be simple at all.

After a few minutes Kayano walked away from the stone statues, starting to descend the stairs. Mitsuhiko crouched and quickly crossed the hallway, getting to the balustrade and lying flat over the floor, holding his breath and holding his gun steady. Once Kayano descended half of the staircase before Mitsuhiko tossed the ball towards the back of her neck.

The dancer moved so quickly Mitsuhiko wondered for a moment if he had seen correctly. She grabbed the rail on the side of the staircase and jumped over it, landing on her feet on the floor. The ball of paper wasn't even close to hitting her, and as soon as her feet touched the tiles she jumped forward, hiding from Mitsuhiko's sight. "Shit!" Mitsuhiko muttered, standing up and running down the stairs, getting to the first floor in matter of seconds and aiming with his gun towards where Kayano would be.

Kayano was nowhere to be seen. Mitsuhiko narrowed his eyes, thinking quickly. She could have gone into the hallway to the Theater, or hidden on the other side of the staircase. Mitsuhiko quickly peeked into the other side, finding nothing. That meant she had gone into the Theater, didn't it?

Mitsuhiko didn't hurry inside, instead he walked one step at a time, letting several seconds pass between each one and looking around him with suspicion. Kayano was already alert, but if he played his cards right maybe he could win despite it being a direct confrontation. Regulating his breathing, Mitsuhiko took out another compressed ball of paper from his pocket, ready to chuck it, and arrived to the Theater.

The place seemed untouched. Mitsuhiko looked around the seating, on the ceiling, in the dark corners, anywhere someone could be hiding, but he didn't see Kayano. _Where is she?_ Could it be possible he had been fooled, entering this place while Kayano ran away somewhere else? Mitsuhiko got on the stage, looking behind the curtain and finding nothing. "Damn it, she got away"

Clueless and shaking his head, Mitsuhiko left the Theater, looking around him all the time in case he had missed Kayano somehow. Feeling he had been fooled ridiculously easily, the hunter left the Theater.

For a while there was nothing moving, but after Kayano was sure Mitsuhiko was gone and wouldn't return for now, she descended from where she had been hiding. She had managed to climb the curtains, getting to the top and holding onto the bar with ease, observing Mitsuhiko since the moment he entered the Theater. "Nice try, but you need more effort" Kayano said, smirking, and left the Theater as well.

She was completely confident she'd win.

-ooooo-

Five minutes remained, and Mitsuhiko was getting antsier by the second.

Kayano hadn't even come to eat, he had been waiting for a chance to pretend to stab her even if it meant doing it "in public", so to say, but the dancer hadn't appeared at all, not even when there were large groups of people. She sure was taking this game seriously! Feeling the sweat on his forehead, Mitsuhiko took deep breaths, hearing steps coming from the hallway to the Cafeteria.

The dancer entered the cafeteria without any big precautions, walking with the confidence someone like her would have. As soon as Mitsuhiko moved not even an inch she turned her head around, looking Mitsuhiko straight to the eyes. "Oh. Hello" she said as if the game wasn't even happening.

Mitsuhiko didn't reply, instead he bolted forward and tackled Kayano. She barely had time to open her mouth to say something when Mitsuhiko collided against her, making her gasp. Both commanders fell to the floor, rolling until they crashed against one of the tables. Anyone who were nearby in that moment would be justified in thinking Mitsuhiko was truly trying to kill Kayano, they were making a lot of noise for a simple game.

"Hikari-kun, what's wrong?" Kayano managed to ask in a moment of reprieve while Mitsuhiko held her down, he had raised his hand as if he had a knife.

"I won"

"...oh! Right, the game. But you didn't win. I did"

The hunter furrowed his brow, a tad confused. His hand hesitated. "No. I'll now—"

"Look at the time!" Kayano showed her wristwatch "24 hours passed already. You're late"

"I'm not late! I have around three minutes more—" but then Mitsuhiko saw the time on her wristwatch. Effectively, it showed it was a few minutes beyond the time agreed for the end of the game. Taken aback, the hunter got off Kayano, gasping like a fish "B-But I thought—I can't have lost! I was the SHSL Hunter, I can't have lost against you!"

"You did. Who would have thought someone from a rival school would defeat a Hope's Peak graduate" Kayano grinned "But you tried. That counts for something"

"I should have won!"

"You didn't. Get over it...but not before you admit I, Harumi Kayano, am cleverer and more prepared than you. Come on, say it"

Mitsuhiko gritted his teeth before sighing. "Fine. Harumi Kayano is cleverer and more prepared than me, even though a mere game isn't enough to prove that. There"

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" Kayano smiled in a friendlier way "But you didn't do so badly. Your attack earlier, in the Lobby staircase...you almost manage to defeat me. I have to give you my compliments for that" Mitsuhiko pouted a bit, eliciting a chuckle from Kayano "Men, always so full of pride. Then again, if I had lost, I guess I would be acting the same"

"It's just that I can't believe I lost..."

"That's how life goes. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. If you want we can play again, starting tomorrow. It should help us both practice, and as commanders we need to stay sharp. What do you say?"

Mitshuiko looked at Kayano as if he couldn't believe what she was proposing. She seemed sincere, someone did have fun trying not to get "killed", and to be honest...Mitsuhiko had some fun too. Sure, maybe this _shouldn_ _'_ _t_ be fun, so perhaps this could be a good chance to practice? "I accept"

Kayano started playing with the pearls in her hair. "Thank you. You better prepare yourself, because I'm not letting myself be caught no matter what. Until then, Hikari-kun" Kayano left the Cafeteria. The hunter stretched his arms, pleased. Sure, he hadn't won, but he liked Kayano and who knows, Kayano could be a useful ally. It would be good to have someone else willing to back him up, if anything happened.

* * *

**Tetsurou Koshimizu, Medical Demon**

**Number of remaining Free Time events: Two**

Mitsuhiko peered into the Cafeteria from the Kitchen, finding there was only one person there. Koshimizu was sitting on a chair near the wall, with a pile of crosswords on the table. The hunter had felt rather conflicted for a while already about the doctor. They didn't like each other, that much was true and it was unlikely it'd ever change, but Koshimizu had accepted to help Yurie, and provided her of care and a wheelchair. That was something Mitsuhiko was grateful for. What he didn't know was if Koshimizu would accept a sign of peace, like a truce. He knew Koshimizu only counted on him for the trials and nothing more, the rest of the time he'd want the hunter to stay away from him.

"Koshimizu-san" Mitsuhiko announced his presence, bringing a cup of coffee and leaving it on the table near the crosswords. The doctor looked into the cup, sneering.

"What's this crap?"

"Coffee. I thought you'd want some"

Koshimizu put away his reading glasses, looking at Mitsuhiko with distrust. "Are you trying to kiss my ass, Hikari-kun?"

The hunter held back the need to groan and facepalm, this was exactly what he didn't want to hear. "No! I just wanted to thank you"

"For what?"

"For helping Yurie. Just accept it, okay?"

Koshimizu glanced into the cup again, as if he was evaluating the possibility it was poisoned. After a pause of a few seconds Koshimizu used to fill a few squares of the crossword he had been filling, he exhaled through his teeth and took a sip from the cup. "...it's rather good" he left it aside "You don't have to thank me. Again, I'm a doctor. I can't just walk away from someone who needs my help. I'd rather you stopped acting like it was some sort of amazing feat"

Mitsuhiko looked away, this all was precisely what he had wanted to avoid. Koshimizu hadn't shown an inch of appreciation for Mitsuhiko's gratefulness, and that greatly bothered the hunter. "But you could have—"

"I told you to stop"

"I'm just trying to bury the hatchet, okay? You don't have to act so guarded"

The medic glanced at Mitsuhiko. "Consider it buried" he pointed at Mitsuhiko with the pen "We're both adults. I may be around twenty years older than you, there's a generational breach and all, but we both belong to the same organization. It would be stupid to fight each other. Just don't kill anyone and we'll be fine, got it, buddy?"

"Buddy?"

"It's better than 'kiddo'" Koshimizu returned to his crossword "If Oyama-san or anyone else needs anything else please tell me. You're all my responsibility, at least regarding your physical well-being. I may not be the kindest person around, but I promise you something:

I'm never going to kill anyone here"

Mitsuhiko nodded. This conversation hadn't gone like he expected, but it was good to be sure Koshimizu was not only willing to continue taking care of Yurie, he'd also help anyone who needed it. "...I see. I'll get going"

"You do that" Koshimizu muttered without looking away from his crossword. The hunter stared for a moment longer before slowly walking away. Once again, Koshimizu showed to be contemptuous towards him. It wasn't exactly encouraging, but it was fine.

-ooooo-

Koshimizu reorganized the infirmary provisions. He seemed greatly uncomfortable, as if moving the bottles around and trying to get everything in order was no more than a way to calm himself down. Mitsuhiko watched him for a while before entering. "Hello, Koshimizu-san"

The doctor turned his head around, greeting Mitsuhiko with his head. "Greetings. Uuuh...my condolences, Hikari-kun. I'm sorry Oyama-san died"

"Thank you, I guess" Mitsuhiko didn't really want to talk about Yurie's death. Both men stayed in awkward silence until the doctor mumbled unintelligibly "What did you say?"

"...I feel I should have kept an eye on her"

"Don't blame yourself, she—" Mitsuhiko's voice suddenly got strained, he needed to take a moment to calm down "...she wouldn't have wanted you following her"

"But technically she was my patient, and as such she was my responsibility. Her death is once another stain in my record as a doctor"

"Once another?" now that he remembered it, Koshimizu had implied something back when he had given Yurie the wheelchair, hadn't he? There was something about Koshimizu and his medical profession that seemed off.

Koshimizu pulled from his beard, grimacing. "...Hikari-kun, at this point do you think it's worth it to keep secrets from each other?"

That was a surprisingly frank question from someone who, until not too long ago, had a condescending and almost antagonistic attitude towards him. "I guess? Everyone has secrets"

"...you're right" a tense silence fell into the room. Koshimizu rummaged through the medicines and medical implements, as if he was trying to fill the silence with noise, while Mitsuhiko waited to see if anything was going to happen. When the hunter was about to leave, Koshimizu finally spoke:

"I'm not a doctor anymore"

"What did you say?"

"I'm not a doctor. My medical license was revoked many years ago"

Mitsuhiko raised his eyebrows. "Why?"

"Are you familiar with the term "malpractice"?" Koshimizu read the label on one of the bottles as if it was the most interesting thing in the world "That's what happened"

"Then it must have been a very bad case of malpractice! No one loses their license for a trifle, right?"

Koshimizu narrowed his eyes. "Yes, it was a very delicate matter. To tell you the truth...I accidentally caused the deaths of seventy-one patients in the hospital I worked at"

"Seventy-one?!" The sheer number was far from what Mitsuhiko expected. Anyone responsible for such number of deaths would be in jail!

"Yes, seventy-one. It's a very long story and I'd rather not to talk about it for long"

"B-But how did that even happen?!"

Koshimizu clenched the bottle, the plastic cracking underneath his fingers. "...I was stupid and careless, and spread an infectious disease through the hospital wing. Most of the patients infected had been immunosuppressed, when we noticed there was something wrong it was too late. I think the hospital was shut down because of that"

Mitsuhiko stepped back a bit, horrified. That sounded worse than anything he had expected! "How are you not in jail?!"

The question offended Koshimizu, he slammed the bottle against a table and glared at Mitsuhiko. "Because of Veritas, of course! He was rather influential back then too, he managed to settle the charges with no problem at all. So I joined DeeEy out of gratitude, as a way to pay him back for what he did for me" he sighed "I never thought I'd turn into such an important member, or that it'd lead to something like this sick game"

Mitsuhiko nodded slowly. That explained it, and of course Veritas would be able to help like that. "I see...why did you tell me, though?"

"Because at this point we're like partners. We have survived this far, we have clashed in trials a few times already..." Koshimizu closed the cabinets "Consider it a token of trust. Don't think too hard about it"

Right, a token of trust. While Koshimizu had tried to seem nonchalant about it all, Mitsuhiko did notice it wasn't easy for him to talk about his malpractice. It was truly a token of trust, in a way. Why else would Koshimizu bother to talk about it? "I'll think of something to tell you, Koshimizu-san"

"Tell me about what?"

"Something about me. Since you told me about your past I should tell you about mine, right?"

The doctor looked at him. "You don't have to do that"

"No, I want to. Consider it a token of trust too"

Koshimizu smirked. "Nice. Are you going to get sappy on me now, Hikari-kun? Claiming us to be "best friends forever" or something ludicrous like that?"

"What? No! That's not what I want!" Mitsuhiko shouted, a tad scandalized. He would never consider Koshimizu a friend, not after how they had gotten along these days. Koshimizu waved with his hand, chuckling.

"Calm down, that was a joke. You're not the type to get sappy" he started leaving the Infirmary, talking along the way "Regardless, tell me anything you want whenever you want. Since I'm older than you I could provide some wise tips or something like that. Someday you could even be like me"

Mitsuhiko grimaced. "I hope not!"

"Hahaha...yes, better not. I'll see you later, Hikari-kun" the doctor left the Infirmary. Mitsuhiko stood around awkwardly. While the animosity between Koshimizu and him seemed to have been completely dispelled, he didn't have any high hopes on it staying that way forever. Their personalities and thoughts seemed fated to clash, the thing was how long would the peace last?

 _By next week we_ _'_ _ll be at each other_ _'_ _s necks again._ Mitsuhiko thought, rolling his eyes. He wasn't dreading the thought of once again being Koshimizu's rival, though. After all these days he had acquired a certain fondness for Koshimizu's antagonism, and didn't want that to change...too much. For now, he'd behave a bit friendlier with him and see how it went.

With those thoughts in mind, Mitsuhiko left the Infirmary too.

**Chiyo Yasumoto, Mind Demon**

**Number of remaining Free Time events: Three**

Mitsuhiko took out the bullets of the gun Emiko delivered to him, and put it all back inside. There were very few bullets inside, just six, but in an emergency...or when he was prepared to kill...those six bullets would be more than enough. One or two would be enough. Was he going to be capable of murdering, though? He was a killer, an assassin, but he had never killed for his own benefit. It had always been for DeeEy's benefit, for Veritas' orders, never for himself.

"...Yurie, what should we do?" he muttered, putting all bullets back into the chamber.

His blood was rushing behind his ears, the sound uncomfortably loud. Slowly, Mitsuhiko lifted the gun, pretending to aim at someone. He started walking around, holding the butt of the gun so strongly his knuckles turned white. He had been about to take out his own gun to compare the bullets and plan the details of a potential murder plan when someone knocked at his door.

"Hikari-kun?" It sounded like Yasumoto "Hikari-kun, are you there?"

The hunter stared at the barrel of the gun for a few seconds before putting it on the desk, and opened the door with a forced smile. "Hello, Yasumoto-san. What do I owe this visit to?"

Yasumoto glanced behind him, seeing the gun on the desk. "Uh, I'll be honest: I didn't plan to come here. In fact, if you had approached to me, I'd have thought of an excuse to go away, because I didn't want to talk to you. But now...now I feel I should try to approach to you"

The psychologist may have talked in French, for as much Mitsuhiko understood. "I'm sorry, what are you talking about?"

"...I started rambling, didn't I? My bad" Yasumoto smiled sheepishly "What I mean to say is that I want to talk to you"

"...riiiiiight...fine, talk to me" Mitsuhiko's hand went to the holster on his hip where he kept his own gun, this started to sound like Yasumoto was looking for an excuse to get him alone and unguarded.

"Okay, I'll go straight to the point" Yasumoto turned serious immediately, and said it: "You're dangerous. I think you're dangerous, I know you're dangerous...and I'm here so that isn't true anymore. I mean, so you're not dangerous anymore"

Mitsuhiko scratched the back of his head, confused. "I don't get it, but fine. Say what you need to say"

Yasumoto crossed her arms. "You're trying to kill someone and I'm here to talk you out of it"

The accusation didn't catch Mitsuhiko with his guard down, but he still felt shivers down his spine. "I don't know why you'd think that"

"The way you have behaved...you seem rather high-strung, and given what's going on, I can only imagine you're planning to kill someone"

"I'm just scared of being killed"

"Are you? Are you telling me that the commander who works by killing others is nervous about being killed?" Yasumoto seemed skeptic "That's unlikely"

"No less unlikely than me flipping out before trying to kill someone!"

"No, that's different. There's a difference between killing because DeeEy tells you, and causing a death that'd later lead to the deaths of another fifteen people...fourteen of them being important commanders in our organization.

Anyone would be nervous about doing that"

There was no way Mitsuhiko would admit Yasumoto was right. Thankfully, she hadn't guessed Yurie was involved in it all too, but that was of little consolation. The important part was for neither Yurie nor Mitsuhiko getting caught, and that seemed impossible now, unless...

Yasumoto stepped back, as if she had guessed what was in Mitsuhiko's mind now. "Killing me won't be of help. I have taken preventive measures already"

"I wasn't thinking about killing you!" Mitsuhiko lied, throwing his arms up in exasperation "Why did you even come to tell me all that? You'd be in danger!"

"Because I'm here to convince you to change your mind" Yasumoto replied without hesitating "How about you tell me about why you want—"

"No! Fuck off already!"

"You're getting quite defensive"

"And _you_ are getting nosy! Leave me alone!" Mitsuhiko slammed closed the door, leaning against it. He knew he had screwed up royally, there was no way Yasumoto would think she had supposed wrongly. Mitsuhiko's reaction may as well have been a confession, he hadn't even denied it before closing the door! _God, I_ _'_ _m such an idiot...I_ _'_ _m so sorry, Yurie..._

"Hikari-kun" Yasumoto said from the hallway. Mitsuhiko had to hold back the desire to shout at her "I'm not your enemy. I want to help you...for the wellbeing of not only you, but of all DeeEy.

All I ask is you to trust me. Please"

Mitsuhiko didn't reply. After a few minutes the hunter heard Yasumoto walking away. Mitsuhiko let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding, and cracked his knuckles. If Yasumoto was trying to stop Mitsuhiko from murdering anyone...well, he had to admit she had succeeded. It was true everyone was already suspicious of him because he received a gun, but now that a person suspected he was going to take action...it was just way too risky. _It_ _'_ _s time for a change of plans._

-ooooo-

Mitsuhiko had never realized how reticent he was to go against Yurie's wishes. She wanted him and her to kill someone and win the contest, so it'd happen. That was what they both had thought since the beginning, there had been no reason to doubt it. But now, after Yasumoto's upfront approach, Mitsuhiko was having some serious doubts about going ahead with the plan and didn't dare to say that to Yurie. He felt he needed to talk with someone, get in order all these thoughts and feelings. Telling it to Yurie didn't feel like an option, keeping it to himself seemed damaging, so...the only option was to talk with the one person that'd know what he was talking about, wasn't it?

That was why Mitsuhiko was now standing in front of Yasumoto's door, in Capm Lily. _Yasumoto-san, I have been thinking about all you said, and I don_ _'_ _t know if I still want to go ahead with it so..._ Somehow it was very hard to tell her he was having second thoughts about murdering someone. Anyone would think it was easy, but there he was, changing over and over what he was going to say.

He wasn't going to have any more time to think, though. While he was pondering how to say it, Yasumoto opened her door. "Oh!" she jumped back when she saw Mitsuhiko standing there with dumbfounded expression "Hikari-kun!"

"Hello, Yasumoto-san" Mitsuhiko smiled unconvincingly. Fess up, Mitsuhiko, it's time. "I wanted to talk about what you had tried to tell me yesterday. Can I come in?"

Yasumoto looked from side to side of the hallway, as if she expected to see a weapon concealed nearby. After a moment of hesitation and trying to decide if Mitsuhiko represented any danger to her, she nodded and stepped aside.

The inside of Yasumoto's classroom had lots of books lining the walls, lying on the floor and littered around. The sleeping bag was left in a corner, while a couple boxes filled with more unknown books covered the desk.

"You're kind of a slob, aren't you?" Mitsuhiko commented, looking around.

"I'm not a slob. What you see is the result of an inquisitive mind" Yasumoto moved a box aside and sat on the desk "Let's start the session now. State what brought you here"

Mitsuhiko raised his eyebrows "Is this some kind of impromptu therapy session?" Yasumoto glared at him. Spurred, the hunter dried his sweating forehead and took a deep breath "You're right. I was planning to kill someone, but now I have changed my mind. I don't want to kill"

"Well done, Hikari-kun" Yasumoto clapped, managing to sound sincere "But it seems to me you're afraid of something. Otherwise you wouldn't be hesitating so much. What is it?"

"The problem is that I wasn't going to do it by myself. Yurie was going to be my accomplice"

Yasumoto extended her hand and asked Mitsuhiko for his wrist. Unsure of why she'd ask it, Mitsuhiko complied. "Does she know yet you don't want to kill?" she asked, placing her thumb on the veins in Mitsuhiko's wrist.

"No, I haven't told her. That's what I'm nervous about! She isn't going to react well, I don't know how to breach the topic" Mitsuhiko frowned "And you're the only one I felt I could talk with about it"

The psychologist squeezed Mitsuhiko' wrist softly, mulling her response. "My advice is to not to beat around the bush and tell it straight. Oyama-san is the type of person that loses her patience when people don't say what they mean quickly enough"

"I know that. I'm her boyfriend, remember?"

"Then do it. You didn't need to talk to me to tell you what to say. If I had to guess..." Yasumoto smirked slyly "...you're whipped, aren't you? I see who has the pants in your relationship"

"Shut up" Mitsuhiko said dryly. Yasumoto's smirk widened.

"I'd congratulate Oyama-san for subjugating you to her will if it weren't because I'm sure she wouldn't like me to say that. Mitsuhiko, there's nothing bad with yielding to her. What is bad is to not to stand up to yourself. There's a difference between she having the upper hand and you being a complete doormat. Make sure you're never a doormat"

That made some sense. Mitsuhiko thought about Yasumoto's words for a moment before nodding. "You're right. I shouldn't be afraid of disappointing her. I must take a stand"

"However!" Yasumoto raised a finger "You must be prepared for any reaction. I don't know Oyama-san that well, but she seems the type to want to take action nonetheless. If someone dies she's bound to be the main suspect. It's up to you to stop her murderous intentions.

Think you can do that?"

The hunter bit his thumb nervously. Yurie was a very stubborn person, and Yasumoto was right that she'd want to kill someone by herself...but Mitsuhiko was convinced she wouldn't. Murdering someone would mean Mitsuhiko would die too, as he wouldn't kill with her, and if there was something Mitsuhiko was sure of was of her love. As long as Mitsuhiko was alive, she wouldn't kill.

"I can"

"Then do it. Face your fear of disappointing her and tell her exactly what you think. It'll all go okay" Yasumoto smiled encouragingly. Mitsuhiko felt like he could laugh for a moment, that a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

"I will! Thank you, Yasumoto-san. And..." the hunter's hand went to the gun in the holster "...please keep this conversation a secret"

"Of course. This never happened. Good luck" Yasumoto motioned towards the door, the conversation was over, as far as she was concerned "If you want to talk again please feel free to come to me"

Mitsuhiko nodded in acknowledgement and left the classroom, going straight to Yurie's classroom. The more he walked, the more nervous he felt, but he knew Yasumoto was right, he needed to stand his ground and not let Yurie change his mind. He felt prepared despite his nervousness, though. Talking to Yasumoto had actually done him good.

-ooooo-

Yasumoto had just finished ordering the many books strewn around in her room when someone knocked at her door. When she opened it, she found Mitsuhiko there, looking around sheepishly. "Yasumoto-san, we need to talk"

"What is it?" Yasumoto stepped aside. Mitsuhiko entered and stood near the window, murmuring something almost intelligible.

"...rie...could have gone...cotton everywhere...o..."

"I'm afraid I didn't understand anything you said, Hikari-kun" Yasumoto replied patiently, once again sitting on the desk. Mitsuhiko scratched his cheek, still murmuring.

"I said I talked with Yurie. It could have gone better"

"She didn't take it well?"

"Let's say I don't think she'll have a comfy place to sleep. That poor sleeping bag is so slashed now..."

Yasumoto would have laughed if it weren't because Mitsuhiko had the same lost expression than a sheep being led to a slaughterhouse. "Her anger won't last long. Sooner or later she'll be frustrated with something else. So, she's going to kill someone?"

"Nope, she won't" Mitsuhiko smiled, relieved "I got her to promise she wouldn't try to kill anyone! That's what matters"

"Well done! But do you know what I think is the important part? That you stood your ground and got her to change her mind. You did well!"

"...please stop that. You're making me feel awkward" Mitsuhiko's smile vanished "Yeah, she promised it...and then she said that if I wasn't going to kill someone with her then she would avoid getting in trouble, only because she loved me and didn't want to see me hurt. Then she kissed me and I think I won't go into any more details"

"I wish I could have seen it myself" Yasumoto smirked.

"Yasumoto-san!"

"It was just a joke! Partly" the psychologist seemed to be enjoying herself, grinning and turning red "Now, what will you do?"

"What do you mean?"

"You got Oyama-san to promise not to kill, and you won't kill. So what now? What will you do?"

Mitsuhiko crossed his arms. "I don't know. Guess we'll coast along and see if anyone will kill someone. I'd like to have a raincheck before attempting to escape"

"That's a bad plan. Let's not do that. In fact..." Yasumoto lowered her voice "I think I could have a job or two for you" Mitsuhiko narrowed his eyes in suspicion, getting Yasumoto to shake her hands hurriedly "It's nothing bad! If everything goes okay the masterminds of this game will be caught and no one will have to die"

That did sound interesting enough for the hunter, and would keep the spot in the Main Board open, wouldn't it? At least it'd ensure the competition would be over, he'd be able to focus on obtaining it through some other way. "Okay. What would I have to do?"

"Stay put for the moment. I have to arrange some stuff with a few others" Yasumoto instructed. Mitsuhiko nodded, and started to leave the room. Before he did Yasumoto stopped him "Hikari-kun, wait!"

"What is it?"

"...thank you for not making that big mistake. I don't know if it's what we talked, or if you're not callous enough to leave all us to die, but...thank you for not murdering anyone.

You have potential. We're counting on you"

Mitsuhiko turned his head around. It was nice to have someone who believed in him and his potential, and frankly, no one better than Yasumoto to know it. She knew about the good and the bad in him, and not only because her profession was about delving in the mind of her patients. "Thanks"

* * *

**Sumida Kishio, Linguist Demon**

**Number of remaining Free Time events: One**

A sudden noise in direction of the Archery Range got Mitsuhiko's attention. The hunter ran to that room, unsure of what he'd find, just hoping no one was getting brutally murdered in that place. Inside he found Kishio, holding a crossbow and aiming with it towards the wall. "Kishio-sensei!"

The linguist didn't even turn around "Hello. Do you need anything?"

"Uh...no, not really. I just..." maybe he had overreacted, but given that three people had been murdered so far, he told himself it was to be expected he'd be high-strung "What are you doing?"

"What a leader should do: take the control of the situation" Kishio seemed to be satisfied with the crossbow, and grabbed an arrow "Isn't that what you wanted? Me to take it all seriously?"

"Well, yeah! But what are you planning?"

"An escape plan, that's what" Kishio replied confidently, smiling with satisfaction at Mitsuhiko's surprised expression "It's about time we got out of here, and we have available everything we need for what I have planned. Once we're out, we'll gather everyone we can and storm this place, catching the masterminds and ending the blight on DeeEy once and for all. What do you think?"

Mitsuhiko closed his mouth, a bit impressed by Kishio's confidence. It was good to see she was taking it seriously, but somehow Mitsuhiko didn't feel much better. "How are you going to let us escape?"

"That's something I can't say aloud. The walls have ears" Kishio moved her finger in wide circles, looking around with something that bordered on paranoia "I don't know if there's anyone left who supports the Main Board...and even if there are, I'm sure it isn't you"

"Thank you, I guess"

"I'll tell you later if there's anything to do. For now all you have to do is to keep your eyes and ears open" Kishio inserted the arrow into the crossbow and made a gesture to leave the room, but didn't move too far away. She seemed to be deep in thought about something...

"I should have gotten serious long ago, shouldn't I?" she murmured.

"You should have" Mitsuhiko wasn't going to be compassionate and tell her it was okay to laze around.

"Maybe if I had so many people wouldn't have died. There could have been several escape plans I could have created, but instead of working on that, I let Yasumoto-san, Takayama-kun and everyone else who had taken charge do their thing. I was supposed to be the leader, and I did nothing.

After all that I don't deserve to be called a leader"

"That's right, you don't"

"So I have taken a decision: once we're all out of here, and once the masterminds are dealt with, I'll quit DeeEy. That'll be better for the organization"

Mitsuhiko frowned. "That is a bit excessive"

"Is it? Can you say I'll be respected as a leader after how I behaved?"

"...no"

"There you have it. DeeEy needs capable people to be in charge. If I'm not capable anymore, it's better for me to step aside and let someone else take control of the commanders. It's that simple!" Kishio pursed her lips "So...thank you for making me realize I should retire"

"That wasn't my intention! All I wanted was you to start doing something!"

"Don't be sorry, this is good! I don't want to be a leader anymore. _C_ _á_ _spita_ , you have no idea what an intensive job it is. It'll be like being on vacation!" Kishio smiled sheepishly "I'm looking forward to it. Thank you, Hikari-kun. Thank you for making me retire. I'll talk with you later" Kishio left the Archery Range, carrying the crossbow and smiling widely, leaving Mitsuhiko dumbfounded and wondering how things had gotten to this point.

All he wanted to do was make Kishio behave like the leader she was supposed to be, not lead to her quitting the organization. Where did he wrong? Although...if she was happy...then maybe it wasn't all bad. Once they were all out, Kishio's happiness depended on her, and at least she had an idea of what to do with her life. Unsure about if he should feel satisfied about himself or not, Mitsuhiko left the Archery Range too.

* * *

**Kouhei Kobayashi, Magical Demon**

**Number of remaining Free Time events: One**

Mitsuhiko had decided to take a break while investigating the building. There hadn't really been any progress, and right now he didn't want to return to his room or go to the Cafeteria. Seeing the burned hallway where Yurie had died would bring painful memories, and Mitsuhiko was determined for her and Kishio's deaths to be the last ones.

Distracted by his thoughts, Mitsuhiko entered the Carpentry Workshop, intending to sit and think in a place where he wasn't likely to be found. He needed to make some sort of plan, think of how he should continue his investigation of the Basement and attempt to get into the bricked Third Floor area. Unfortunately for him, his train of thought got derailed when he entered the Workshop and found himself being stared from the corner.

"Who is th—" the person in the corner turned familiar. It was himself. Another Mitsuhiko, staring at him and not saying a word. It wasn't a flat image, or anything like that, it looked like a normal 3D copy of himself. "Waaait..." Mitsuhiko narrowed his eyes and extended his arm forward, noticing the other Mitsuhiko did the same. It was...a mirror? But around Mitsuhiko he could see the corner of the room, not a reflection of the door.

Suddenly, a sudden slamming sound startled him. Mitsuhiko turned around with a gasp, finding the door had closed itself, and right in front of it and gripping the doorknob was another copy of him. The hunter let out a whimper of surprise, there was no way that one was a reflection. His body's actual position wasn't even close to what he was seeing!

He barely had a second or two to look at that third Mitsuhiko before a soft scraping noise resonated behind him, as well as a voice. "Are you going to ignore me?" it sounded way too similar to his own voice.

"What the hell?!" he screamed. The second Mitsuhiko was much closer now, just inches away of his face. Immensely startled, Mitsuhiko jumped backwards and slammed his back against the cabinet. A muffled 'ow' sounded from inside the cabinet, getting Mitsuhiko's attention. The hunter narrowed his eyes and opened the cabinet. "You!"

"Oh, h-hey, Mitsuhiko!" Kobayashi grinned nervously and waved. Mitsuhiko grabbed the illusionist from his sleeves and pulled him out of the cabinet "Uncle, uncle! I surrender!"

"What's going on here?!"

"It was just a prank! Payback for trying to shoot me. That's all!"

"Payback? A prank? I don't understand..." now that the shock of seeing copies of himself was subsiding Mitsuhiko was starting to realize what was going on. The hunter let go of Kobayashi's sleeve, turning to see the first clone. Although it still was startlingly close, Mitsuhiko noted he was moving like him. "Oh. Oooh, I can't believe I fell into your prank"

"But you have to admit I did great" Kobayashi shook the dust off his clothes, approaching the mirror and pulling away the thin painted film he had placed on it.

"How did you do that? I heard my voice, and there were two, and there's no way that was a mirror, so—"

"Look around yourself" Kobayashi snapped an almost invisible amount of threads from the base of the wide mirror. Mitsuhiko obeyed, noting for the first time there was a slight haze in the air. It was rather subtle, but a light gray mist filled the workshop "This mist can distort the environment and help create illusions"

"So this was all a big magic trick?"

"Illusion" Kobayashi corrected, taking off a couple films off the mirror and showing them to Mitsuhiko. Those were translucent sheets, showing a very meticulous painting of the corner. It looked very opaque near the edges, while the center area was very faded, enough for Mitsuhiko's reflection to show through"

"Okay, that's kinda clever..." Mitsuhiko admitted "But what about my voice?"

Kobayashi smirked and cleared his throat, making an almost perfect imitation of the hunter's voice. "What, this? I learned to modify my voice! It h-helps in performances. I can direct it and make it s-sound like it came from somewhere else, too. It's not perfect but it works"

Mitsuhiko turned towards the door, the copy of himself was still there. "And what about that...wait..." now that Mitsuhiko looked at it with more attention...the face of that person didn't even look like his! It was like a caricature of himself "Is that a mannequin?"

"I had such a hard time making it take that position" Kobayashi took the mannequin, which he had dressed with clothes similar to Mitsuhiko's, and a wig "I tied a thread to this point..." he said, pointing at the juncture of the shoulder with the arm "...so when I pulled from it, the mannequin fell and closed the door"

"That's...a very detailed plan" so that was all Kobayashi's work. It was actually impressive! "Why did you go through so much effort? Were you so bored, Amy?"

"It was revenge! I wanted to bury the hatchet, so...I did this and...we're now even. No more hard feelings. I'm sorry for messing w-w-with you..."

Mitsuhiko crossed his arms, literally biting his tongue. It hadn't exactly been a fun moment, but in a Kobayashi did deserve to have some sort of revenge on Mitsuhiko. "...great. I admit I'm impressed, but please don't do that again"

"I won't! So what do you say? We work together until the end?"

"Yep. We're partners now. You're not as stupid as I thought, Amy" Mitsuhiko said rudely "But even if you were I still regret having shot you"

"I won't prank you again if y-you don't mention your murder attempt on me" Kobayashi said flatly "I'll return all this stuff to the Theater Workshop...and then I'll i-investigate more. See you later?"

"We will. Take care" Mitsuhiko said, pretending he cared much less than he actually did. Kobayashi sensed it and smiled sincerely, taking the mirror and moving it out of the workshop. "I'm glad you're not dead, Kobayashi-kun" he murmured once he was sure Kobayashi was far away, and looked around the workshop one time more. It really had been a clever joke. A bit complicated, but clever nonetheless.

* * *

**Daisuke Mitsuishi, Flying Demon**

**Number of remaining Free Time events: Two**

"Hey. Hikari-kun. Tell me something I'm good for"

Mitsuhiko turned his head around. He had heard someone coming, but didn't think it'd be to talk to him. Mitsuishi was there, looking as if he was about to run away at the slightest chance. "What's up with the sudden question?"

"Nevermind that! Just tell me! Validate me!"

The sudden exclamations got Mitsuhiko to tear his eyes away of what he was reading. "Uuuuuh...well, you're not called the Flying Demon for nothing, are you?"

"But am I irreplaceable? There's no one who could do the same I do, right?"

"I wouldn't say _that_ much" Mitsuhiko said, although when Mitsuishi's face contorted in pain the hunter hurried to add: "But Delacroix accepted you in his school because of your talent. You shouldn't think about it too much"

Mitsuishi didn't seem satisfied with that answer. "But is there people who could do it? Tell me!"

"...do you want me to be honest or...?"

"Be honest already!"

"Yes. There are people who could do the same you do"

Although Mitsuhiko said it relatively mild and without making it a personal attack, Mitsuishi recoiled as if the words had wounded him deeply. "O-Oh. That's...I see"

"Why did you ask?"

"I don't know. I think I wanted to hear something nice about myself...have a little pick-me-up...no big deal" his face was making it look like a big deal "Don't pay attention to me. I'm leaving now"

Mitsuhiko stood up. "That's enough! You, come back here and say already what's up with you. I'm not in mood to give you the attention you want" Even telling him that was enough to give him the attention, but Mitsuhiko didn't care. All he wanted was for Mitsuishi to stop that.

"I told you, it's nothing"

"Like hell it's nothing! Say it already"

Mitsuishi rolled his eyes, although, in his mind, he was relishing in Mitsuhiko's impatience. "I had some doubts about my skills, that's all.

Being replaced because I'm not good enough, even if I'm supposed to be the best aviator in the organization...it wouldn't be surprising" Mitsuishi sighed theatrically "And I'm not the most loved person around either. So many woes!"

Mitsuhiko pinched the bridge of his nose, he really hated when Mitsuishi made such obvious bids for attention. "Come on, you won't be replaced. Stop worrying about that"

"It's impossible for me not to worry. It has happened before" Mitsuishi said that without any trace of histrionics. Mitsuhiko stared at the aviator, unsure of how to respond to that. Curiosity won the battle in his head.

"What do you mean?"

"You can't understand if you didn't have siblings" Mitsuishi looked at the ceiling "I'm the oldest sibling. I was the first of the eleven Mitsuishi siblings, to be more precise"

"Eleven?!" Mitsuhiko's exclamation escaped before he could stop it, and the aviator shrugged as if it was nothing surprising.

"Mine is an extensive family. I was the first to do everything. The first to learn to read, to learn to write, to have good grades...everything" Mitsuishi tilted his head, frowning "But then there came one of those ten and they did everything better than I did. One by one, all my achievements were left behind"

Oh. Was that why Mitsuishi was so attention-starved? "I see..."

"If it weren't because of the end of the world I'm sure three or four of my siblings would have gotten into aviation too, and I would have been left behind once again" he mumbled bitterly. Mitsuhiko groaned before pointing at Mitsuishi with a finger. Better to make sure the message comes across without chance for Mitsuishi to reject it:

"Can you give that a break already? Who cares what happened in the past? You're not getting replaced as easily as you think!"

"But—"

"Shut up and listen! You are a Diavolos Avante commander. You need to be strong and have confidence in yourself, so stand up straight and accept once and for all you are important and won't be replaced"

"Hikari-kun, you don't understand—"

"Of course I don't understand! And I doubt I ever will, but the least you can do for yourself is stop this moping act and start behaving like a commander" without waiting for a reply, Mitsuhiko slammed the book he was reading and walked away, leaving Mitsuishi stunned and with his mouth wide open in surprise.

 _...I may have gone a bit overboard_ Mitsuhiko thought once he was far enough _But it_ _'_ _s what he needed to hear, right? The sooner he gets that into his head the better_

-ooooo-

"Hikari-kun, can I ask you something?"

"Why do you always approach to me from the back?" Mitsuhiko asked, turning around and finding Mitsuishi there. Unlike the other times, he seemed a tad more confident, looking at Mitsuhiko with curiosity.

"It just happens" he scratched his cheek "I wanted to ask you how to be a good commander"

Mitsuhiko stared at Mitsuishi, a bit surprised by the question. "Why do you ask me?"

"Because you seem like a good commander to me. You're strong, dedicated, and smart. If there's anyone who can tell me it's you"

Well that was flattering. "Alright...uh, lesson one: be confident about your decisions. Once you're determined to do something, don't change your mind unless you feel that's better"

"And how will I know when it's better?"

"I don't know. It depends of the situation" Mitsuhiko raised a finger "Lesson two: stop worrying about other people's opinions. What matters is that you're confident" Now that one was something he had broken at least once during the recent week.

"That...I can do that. Yeah" Mitsuishi nodded "Anything else?"

"Yes, third lesson: always try to improve. Don't let yourself be left behind. Keep practicing your skills, got it?"

Mitsuishi closed his eyes, letting Mitsuhiko's rather common tips soak his brain. "That's...that sound so simple...can it be so simple?"

"It sounds simple but it's difficult. It's up to you to try and do something, so don't expect anyone else to help you with that"

"Ugh, this sounds like a royal pain in the ass..." Mitsuishi frowned "...but I'll try. I'll follow all that to the point you and everyone else will have to praise me! I'll do stuff no one else would be capable to do! And once again I'll be ahead of the curve. How about that?"

"...I liked you more when you weren't boasting" Mitsuhiko murmured "Good luck, I guess. You do what you want" the hunter stood up to leave, but Mitsuishi blocked the way. "What are you...?" whatever Mitsuhiko was going to say was forgotten when he noticed Mitsuishi was flushed.

"Hikari-kun, I wanted to thank you for everything you had said to me, and for—for not accepting my bullshit..."

"Come on, I doubt I was the first person to tell you to knock it off"

"No, you're not the only one! But something in the way you did it make it be different, somehow..." Mitsuishi gestured uncertainly with his hands "You left before I could say anything back, and although I pissed you off you didn't go away when I approached you again...that's what I think...made it be different"

Mitsuhiko stared awkwardly at Mitsuishi before nodding slowly. "Well, you're welcome. Don't think about it too hard" the hunter stepped to a side before being stopped again

"Wait!" Mitsuishi stood in front of Mitsuhiko again "I don't know how soon I'll be able to do everything you said, but do you think we could...we could...be friends? Or partners? Something?"

"...you're trying to ask is if I'll be around to see you do all that, aren't you?" Mitsuhiko asked dryly, receiving a firm nod as only reply. After a moment of silence, the hunter sighed "Sure, if only to make sure you actually succeed"

Mitsuhiko may as well have said he'd guide Mitsuishi every step of the way, for the way the aviator's face lighted up "I promise I'll do my best, senpai!"

"S-Senpai?"

"Yeah! It's the least I can do, right? You have given me the basics to be a better commander. You're my teacher"

"...knock it off, it's kind of weird" Mitsuhiko smiled wryly. Mitsuishi chuckled and stopped blushing, he seemed to be a tad embarrassed now.

"Sorry, I got a bit carried away...I just wanted to tell you I'm grateful. Well I did it, so I should get going. I'll see you later, Hikari-kun" and with that, Mitsuishi ran away as fast as he could. Mitsuhiko, baffled, stood there, looking where Mitsuishi had ran away to.

"...what the hell did just happen here?" But it wasn't entirely bad. At least Mitsuishi seemed willing to change and do something truly worthy of praise, instead of clinging to insignificant hypocrisy and milking out appreciation from moments that could be no more than a strike of luck. What mattered was that Mitsuishi had taken the first step already in the path to self-improvement, and some encouragement seemed like a good idea.

_I just hope I won_ _'_ _t regret it._

* * *

**Kumakichi Fukuyama, Acting Demon**

**Number of remaining Free Time events: Three**

"Fukuyama-kun, can I ask you something?"

Fukuyama turned his head around when he heard Mitsuhiko's voice. Calmly and making sure to seem controlled, the actor left his plate of food aside. "What is it?"

"I want to ask you something...what's the mask for?"

"I have told you all before: I needed to look like a rioter" Fukuyama touched his mask "Don't ask me how I obtained it because it's a long story"

"But why would you need to pretend to be a rioter?"

Fukuyama touched his mask again. "It's much easier to survive when I have this. You'd do good on getting one yourself, although I don't trust you to be capable of feigning despair"

"I'll let you know I'm capable of feigning anything!" Mitsuhiko replied "And I don't believe you have that mask just to survive. We're DeeEy commanders, not mere pedestrians walking around. There must be some sort of reason for you to do it!"

"You're supposing too many things, buddy. Don't ask things you're better off not knowing" Fukuyama said, squaring his shoulders, then did something Mitsuhiko didn't think he would do. As soon as Fukuyama finished the last word, he roared gutturally, making a rather impressive imitation of a bear. Despite how accurate it was, the situation made it silly, not intimidating, but to not to inconvenience Fukuyama Mitsuhiko pretended to be scared.

The actor wasn't impressed, though. "Fear is a rather basic emotion. You couldn't even pretend to be scared, so no, you'd be terrible at playing being despaired. See my point?"

"Okay, fine. I wouldn't survive wearing one of those masks, but I insist you must have some sort of other reason. Come on, tell me!"

"If I tell you will you finally leave me alone?" Fukuyama said, somehow the strength of his glare getting through the mask and piercing Mitsuhiko. The hunter actually had to force himself not to back off "Yeah, you're right, I'm not wearing this for survival. I'm on a mission"

"A mission for what? Are you trying to find SHSL Despair by using that mask?" Mitsuhiko could think several problems to that possibility, but it was a start to finding out Fukuyama's thought process. The actor tilted his head.

"No, that wouldn't work. SHSL Despair wouldn't hesitate to kill rioters too. They have no loyalty, or care about anyone. Getting close to them would be _suicidal_ and you know it"

Mitsuhiko closed his eyes, pensive. "If your goal wasn't to find SHSL Despair, and it wasn't mere survival, then...it could be a secret mission DeeEy gave you, and—"

"At this point you're just guessing"

"Okay, I _am_ guessing"

Fukuyama looked around. It would be inconvenient if Monobear was nearby and listening...and frankly, it was likely the masterminds were keeping their eyes and ears open, whether it was through Monobear, or through Takayama's microphones, or any other way. "Keep it as a secret:

What would you say if I told you this isn't the first murdergame I'm aware of?"

"...are you talking about the one Volkos was responsible for?" Mitsuhiko asked, and Fukuyama pressed his mask against his face.

"Are we completely sure Volkos did it?"

"Who else would have done it? Only Volkos would have access to everything that was needed!"

"...you may be right" Fukuyama let go of his mask "I'm not that smart, Hikari-kun, but I want to find some sort of answer"

"Why would you care so much about that game? Were you close to Volkos or something? I don't see why you'd feel the need to dig around for pretty much no reason at all!"

Fukuyama's voice turned into something akin to a growl, which was completely out of place. Bears can't growl, and unlike the roar from earlier, something primeval resonated in Fukuyama's voice. "I have no need to explain myself to you. What I do or not do is my business, and if you try to get in my way...

...I'll kill you"

"W-What—?"

"I have nothing else to say to you" Fukuyama's voice returned to normal "I feel like taking a nap! See you later, Hikari-kun! Remember curiosity killed the cat...because the bear mauled it!" the actor started to leave.

It took a moment for Mitsuhiko to snap out of the sudden fear that had gripped him. "Wait a second, that saying doesn't make any sense at all!"

"...play dumb all you want, but not when I'm around" Fukuyama said from the hallway, and walked away. _What did I do to piss him off? Why is he so interested in a matter that_ _'_ _s closed already? I don_ _'_ _t get it._

-ooooo-

Although Fukuyama's anger was still fresh in Mitsuhiko's mind, his curiosity overcame his prudence, especially now that the file regarding Kaiji Kudo had been unveiled. There was no way that wasn't related to the mutual killing game Fukuyama knew about, and to be completely honest, Mitsuhiko was starting to doubt the story behind that game was as simple as Volkos being the mastermind.

"Uh, Fukuyama-kun, about that file we all found in the Cafeteria..." Mitsuhiko approached the actor, hesitant and paying attention to see if Fukuyama wasn't in mood to talk. Luckily for him, although Fukuyama's face was still behind that mask, his body language seemed more contemplative than annoyed...at least Mitsuhiko hoped the way Fukuyama was walking around slowly, staring at the floor, meant he was deep in thought.

"What about it?" he sounded flat.

"Is that the game you were looking information about...?"

"It is. You guessed right" there was silence. Since Fukuyama seemed unwilling to talk about the killing game without someone else pushing him to do it, Mitsuhiko tried to prod him into telling more, but Fukuyama didn't yield until when Mitsuhiko was about to give up.

"Hikari-kun, this may be out of the blue, but I need to tell you something: I'm very jealous of you"

"Jealous?" Mitsuhiko smiled a bit "I know there are a lot of reasons to be jealous of me, but which one of the many reasons did you choose?"

Fukuyama's glare was mercifully softened by the mask. "Stop that. The reason I'm jealous of you is because of your relationship with Oyama-san"

Of all things Fukuyama could have said, that one hadn't even crossed Mitsuhiko's mind. "My relationship with...?"

"Must be nice to have your girlfriend around. To be able to tell her you love her, to get annoyed at her abrasive nature yet loving her even more after every time, to watch over her and be able to do anything for her...yes, I'm jealous of all that"

That was...rather specific! "Uh, Fukuyama-kun, I'm not sure what you mean"

"Oyama-san reminds me of the woman who used to be my fiancée" Fukuyama's voice softened considerably, taking a fond tone that didn't fit Fukuyama at all "Mine was less hardheaded than Oyama-san, and far less irascible, but she's similar in other ways. Seeing you with Oyama-san...makes me wish I could be with my fiancée again"

"Did she leave you or something?"

Fukuyama fidgeted, messing with his mask. "...technically, she did. Not exactly, but...she isn't here anymore.

She's dead"

"Oh" That explained it "I'm sorry to hear that"

"Do you know why I'm telling you this?" Mitsuhiko had no idea. It seemed like a topic that came out of the blue, unrelated to the conversation, unless...

"Was she in the bunker Volkos messed with?"

Fukuyama clenched his fists. "I told you already Volkos may not have done it! Didn't you see the file?" For a moment it seemed he was going to say something else, but instead he shook his head "Forget that! My point was that I was giving you a bit of information. Now that you know why I'm looking for information about that killing game, I want you to stay away from my plans"

"I can't just stay away! There could be a way for me to help you—"

"I don't need your help. Stay away" Fukuyama grumbled, walking away "Thank you for your offer, nonetheless"

The fact Fukuyama had bothered to thank him gave Mitsuhiko a bit of hope that he'd be allowed to help, although the hunter was trying to get involved mostly out of curiosity. Emiko had revealed similar stuff to him, so that meant there were two people who were trying to find answers about the mutual killing game in the bunker. Maybe they were right, maybe there was something fishy going on and there were answers to be found. It was worth a try.

 _I doubt he_ _'_ _ll bother to tell me anything else, so I may have gotten into a dead end here._ Mitsuhiko shrugged. What were the chances Emiko or Fukuyama decided to bring him into their individual plans?

-ooooo-

"Hikari-kun, I need advice"

That was an unexpected voice! Mitsuhiko turned around, finding Fukuyama and getting the hunter's immediate attention, as he immediately knew there was something strange going on. Fukuyama had taken his mask off slightly, peering from over the mask. Fukuyama's green eyes showed something resembling...

...distress. "Why me?"

"Weren't you aching to know about what I was doing? Here I am to tell you about that" Fukuyama put the mask back on, pressing it hard against his face. "I'm not going to give you full details, but I need advice.

What would you do if a decision you took time ago ends...making things worse for everyone but those who should suffer?"

That wasn't really a hard question. "I'd take action to fix my mistakes, of course"

"Even if it's too late to take back what you did?"

"Even if it's too late. What's important is to try"

Fukuyama stopped pressing his mask so hard, muttering something unintelligible. "That sounds like some really obvious advice, but I can't complain. You're right that's what I should do"

"Why did you ask?"

"Nevermind that" Fukuyama sat down, sighing "Remember what I told you about the bunker? About how Volkos is likely not to be the culprit?" Mitsuhiko nodded "I am now certain of it. Volkos wasn't the one who made it happen"

Mitsuhiko raised his eyebrows, disguising his interest in that topic. "Then who did it?"

"The Main Board, of course. It was all them" Fukuyama's voice turned venomous "Someday they'll pay for what they did and-!"

"Wait wait wait wait. Slow down!" Mitsuhiko raised his hands "What do you mean the Main Board did it all?"

"Isn't it obvious? They caused the bunker killing game, and they blamed Volkos for it! And now they're doing the same with this game. That's what I mean"

That information wasn't new for Mitsuhiko, he had already started to suspect that, but it seemed Fukuyama may have more data than he did. It was worth listening to him. "What about Veritas?"

"He doesn't know anything, I'm sure about it. The Main Board are traitors, and I don't know what we can do about it" Fukuyama said "They have the control of the situation, and I can't think of a way to defeat them. In times like this...I wish I could talk to Chichi again. She'd know what to do"

 _If she knew what to do, I don_ _'_ _t think she_ _'_ _d have died in the bunker._ That thought crossed Mitsuhiko's mind, shaming him. It was a cruel sentence, there was no way he was going to say it aloud. "Don't lose hope, Fukuyama-kun. It's not all lost"

"For me it's all lost. I came here to look for the people who caused Chichi's death, and I found them" Fukuyama stared at the ceiling "But now...I don't know what to do. I can't simply kill them, and we all can't do a thing to them...yet. I wouldn't be so worried if it weren't because I'm not sure I'll live long enough to make them pay"

"You can't know that! You're not the type to give up, are you?"

"I am" he mumbled. Mitsuhiko snorted, what a disappointing answer. Still, if Fukuyama was feeling like this, the least the hunter could do was provide some reassurance.

"You know you're not alone, do you?" that got Fukuyama to look at him "We're not in the same boat in the whole 'looking for the truth' thing, but if you ask for help we could give you a hand"

"I'd rather not to ask for help"

"Then you have no one but yourself to blame for giving up. Get serious, Fukuyama-kun, and don't be afraid of asking for help" the hunter emphasized by hitting the table with his finger several times. He couldn't tolerate that one of the commanders simply rolled around and gave up without doing any more effort, that was incomprehensible to him, and apparently Fukuyama understood that. The actor adjusted his mask, pensive, and finally nodded.

"You're right, I can't just give up now...I don't know what to do, but I can't give up" he scratched his head "I just need to think of a plan"

"I could help you with that! You're not the only one who's trying to find out more about what happened in the bunker"

"But you said you weren't interested in that"

"It's not me" Mitsuhiko considered for a moment how many details he should give "It's that courier, Tanaka-san"

"Tanaka-san? She's..." Fukuyama thought for a moment "...no, wait...that'd explain why she is here. She didn't get caught in this mess by accident, she planned it"

"I think you're right about that. She wants to find the truth; why don't you talk with her? Who knows, between the two of you maybe you could achieve something meaningful"

Fukuyama considered the proposition before nodding. "Yes, that seems like a good idea to me. Do you think she is...reliable?"

"Um..." there was no was Mitsuhiko was going to voice his suspicion she was from the Future Foundation! "Yeah, she's reliable. You can trust her"

Fukuyama nodded. "Then it's settled! I'll talk with her. Thanks, Hikari-kun! You're a pal" the actor extended his hand with gratitude, and when Mitsuhiko extended his with caution, the actor grabbed the hunter's hand and shook it with vigor, before walking away. Mitsuhiko rubbed his sore hand, a bit taken back by how well Fukuyama had taken the suggestion. Alright...what matters is that he's determined again. That's good, right?

Besides, who knew? Maybe any truth Fukuyama and Emiko could discover would be important and game changing. The odds were low, but it was better to hold some hope. Mitsuhiko just hoped Emiko wouldn't be upset for knowing Fukuyama knew about her goal, though.

* * *

**Hiyoko Romi, Lyricist Demon**

**Number of remaining Free Time events: One**

"Hey! Since you're here, I have a favor to ask to you!" Romi said, suddenly springing her hand towards his arm. Mitsuhiko stared at it, a tad taken aback.

"...what kind of favor, exactly?"

"What? What are you insinuating?" Romi frowned "Forget that and focus: I need you to carry a few things for me outside. Follow me" without even waiting for a confirmation Mitsuhiko was going to help, Romi let go of his arm and hurried to go towards the Theatre, and since Mitsuhiko had nothing better to do – and felt Romi would get really angry if he dared to walk away just like that – he decided to help.

Romi had gotten on the scenario, looking for something behind the curtain. "I'm not sure how these things work, but it shouldn't be too hard to get it all working...I hope" she said, dragging out a machine Mitsuhiko recognized: it was a speaker. Piled on top of it there was a console "But I don't think anyone should let a blind person play with electronics. That's why I need help"

"I'll do it" Mitsuhiko hurried to get on the stage to start dragging the speaker away. It was a rather large object, and thankfully it had wheels, but it wasn't going to be easy to take it out of the Theater. Speaking of that... "Where do you want to take this thing to?"

"The Courtyard"

"The Courtyard?! Why do you want to put this in there?"

"It's the only way I can think of making the Main Board listen to what I have to say" Romi said mutedly, getting off the stage "I have taken a decision, and I want them to know it"

"How are you going to tell them?"

"Through a song, of course. I got into this school because I made a rather amateur song, so what better way to get out of DeeEy than through a song? A better one than the one that got me in here, of course"

That made some sense, in a convoluted and illogical way. Mitsuhiko could respect it. Mitsuhiko pushed the speaker and the console all the way to the entrance of the building, and although making the speaker roll on grass was rather difficult, he persevered until Romi told him where to leave it. Once the lyricist plugged an USB into the console and the speaker was plugged, Mitsuhiko approached her again. "How long have you been planning this?"

"Long enough. I had created the tune some weeks ago, I find it helps me to think of the right words" Romi said, messing with the control panel, even though it seemed she didn't even know what exactly she was doing "And now that I have the song...I can do it"

"Are you sure you'll get their attention?"

"That's the next step" Romi crouched and touched the grass until she found a stone as big as her hand "Where's the window to the Fourth Floor office, Hikari-kun?" Once the hunter positioned her in the right direction, Romi threw the rock towards that window with all her strength, breaking the glass "Hey! Bastards! Down here! I have an announcement to make to you!" after that she turned towards Mitsuhiko. "Thank you for helping me, Hikari-kun, but please step aside"

This was meant to be a private moment, that's what Mitsuhiko noticed. Better to leave her alone, although Mitsuhiko would have liked to listen to Romi's new song. After making sure Romi had everything in order, Mitsuhiko returned inside. He was going to leave the door open to listen, but Romi's glare got him to close it, although he still looked through the window, watching her take a microphone that had been stashed into a compartment of the speaker.

It was unfortunate the headquarters building was so well built the sound from outside couldn't get in. Romi was singing with energy, seemingly vocalizing each word with fortitude, and looking upwards, most likely towards the window she broke. If Mitsuhiko put his ear against the glass, he could feel the vibrations of the music, but he couldn't distinguish the words.

 _Maybe someday I_ _'_ _ll know exactly what she said..._ Someday he would ask, but right now, it was a moment for her and for the Main Board, and it felt like an invasion to try to meddle with it. At least Mitsuhiko was glad she had managed to do what she had wanted.

That was good enough.

* * *

**Kyrie Mimori, Journalist Demon**

**Number of remaining Free Time events: Three**

Well, at least Mimori seemed like the kind of person that would keep her eyes wide open, trying to find any clues that could tip the masterminds' plans and intentions. Who better than the one who had been brought into Delacroix's school because she was a good journalist? Besides, she was also known for scouting for information, so she was a person to rely on.

That was why Mitsuhiko went to the door to Mimori's room and knocked. Sounds of shuffling and heavy steps sounded inside before the door opened, showing a rather sweaty and haggard Mimori. "Oh, it's you" she sounded rather displeased to see him.

"Mimori-san, I was wondering if you have seen any clues"

The journalist brushed aside her hair. "Are you trying to find information to pass to the masterminds?"

"Wait, what? No! That's—" Mitsuhiko spluttered, caught off-guard at the sudden accusation. He took a deep breath "I'm just trying to find clues"

Mimori stared at him for a moment before stepping aside, looking at him up and down intently. "I haven't found much, but maybe you could tell me what you have seen?"

"I'm asking because I haven't found much" Mitsuhiko said, stepping inside "And since you're a journ...a journalist...I thought...you..." Mitsuhiko trailed off, looking around the room. "...what the hell?!"

There were dozens of individual pages of notebook strewn around the room, all of them seemingly covered in line after line of minute calligraphy. The sleeping bag was placed on a side, and in middle of the room, there was a Monobear, seemingly in middle of being disassembled. What exactly was going on here? Mimori stood to Mitsuhiko's side. "If you have something to ask about this then go ahead"

"I don't even know where to start!"

"Come on, Hikari-kun. I have been analyzing you" Mimori took out her pen and started writing in her notebook "You're not the type to keep to yourself anything. Am I wrong?"

She wasn't, and he knew it. That's why after a moment he used to calm himself down he decided to go ahead. "What's up with the broken bear?"

"Oh, that" Mimori smiled "I managed to convince Monobear to let me keep the bear Lily destroyed. 'Know your enemies inside and out', that's a rule to follow in life"

"You don't mean that literally, do you?"

"Of course I do!" Mimori's smile turned wider, she seemed so satisfied of herself... "But don't get into a flight of fantasy. When it's about people I mean to know their souls, their minds...that's very important for a journalist"

"Why?"

"Journalism is all about finding the truth. People lie, circumstances lie...in a way I'm like a detective! But of course I'm not infallible" her face contorted in frustration for a moment, but her smile returned quickly after that "These trials we're supposed to get into...I trust my own deduction skills. I'm sure I'll be able to be of help"

"I hope so! We can't let just a few people take the helm all the time"

"Of course. But for now, while this whole mess starts, we also need to take action. That's why I acquired this bear here, and it has been very interesting so far" she pointed at it with her pen "Did you know it has a bomb?"

"It has what?!" Mitsuhiko went pale. Mimori approached a round object in middle of the bear wreckage.

"I haven't deactivated it, so be careful. You know, we're lucky Lily didn't accidentally activate it yesterday. We could have gotten gravely injured if it had exploded"

The thought made Mitsuhiko shiver. Most of the commanders were rather close to the table when Lily attacked Monobear, if it had exploded at that moment who knows how many would have died. "Right...any useful clues?"

"If you mean stuff to find out who the masterminds are, well, no. Not yet" Mimori shrugged "You caught me in middle of this. Want to help me?"

"Really?"

"We're in the same boat, trapped in this place. Let's help each other"

_We spent the next hour continuing to disassemble Monobear._

-ooooo-

Although Mitsuhiko had tried to approach Mimori the day after the trial, she had huffed and turned away. When he tried a few hours later, she did it again. Looks like she was rather upset with him for some reason, and he wasn't sure why. Maybe he should approach her when she's in a slightly more private setting, such as her bedroom?

That was why he was now standing in front of her bedroom, about to knock on her door and hope for the best. So what if she was rather annoyed with him for one reason or another? He needed to talk with her, so he hit the door a few times. "Hey! Mimori-san!"

After a few seconds the door opened slightly, Mimori peeking with distrust. "What?"

"I need to talk with you" he stated. After a pause Mimori opened the door, letting him in.

The inside of Mimori's room was even messier than before. The number of notebook pages spread around had increased, and now there were also pages pinned to the walls with duct tape. Crude red lines made with crayon crossed the pages on the wall, linking them together. Mitsuhiko could only stare, to the point the journalist started to lose her patience. "What? What did you want to talk about?" she pressed.

"Uh...oh. Right. Mimori-san, I was wondering if you had found anything new" the hunter asked, looking at notebook pages on the floor and picking up one. It had undoubtedly come from Mimori's notebook, the one he had seen several times before.

"That's it? No. I haven't found anything new. Get out" she really didn't like him anymore, apparently. In an effort to get him out, Mimori started pushing until he was out in the hallway, and closed the door with a slam. After a few seconds Mitsuhiko managed to react.

"...the hell?!" he turned around and knocked on the door again, but Mimori ignored him. Not having anything else to do, Mitsuhiko started to step away, but then noticed he was still holding onto the notebook page he had taken from the floor. A bit curious of what kind of stuff Mimori had written, he leaned against the wall to read.

It seemed to be part of a comprehensive record of the first trial, written as an article, line after line of tiny letters piled. It also included many comments and theories from Mimori, and almost every word and sentence said during the trial had been listed. Apparently Mimori started writing that page from the moment Mitsuhiko had proved his and Yurie's innocence, and ended in middle if Mitsuhiko trying to prove Kayano was guilty.

There was something curious, though...most of Mimori's observations were about Monobear's behavior and comments, although he didn't do much during the trial. Lily was another topic she was dealing with rather often, although her notes were more inquiring than observational when she talked about Lily.

"...I'm not some kind of 'stuck-up attempted murderer'" Mitsuhiko muttered, reading one of the notes. There were a few lines about the commanders. Yasumoto, Sasuga and Fukuyama were the ones that featured the most among them, with comments such as 'should get more active in the trial' and 'her actions when she was killed showed a lack of concern for her own life'. Mitsuhiko had no idea if they were all accurate or not, and it wasn't like he could ask Mimori, but there was something clear:

Mimori was trying very hard to keep some sort of record of what was going on in the contest. Otherwise, how else would all those pages exist? Musing about what else Mimori may have deduced or commented, he slid the page down Mimori's door and walked away.

While he was get away he thought he heard a door open, but no one came out to the hallway.

-ooooo-

It had been a long while since the last time Mitsuhiko had tried to talk with Mimori privately. Since then Mimori seemed to have calmed down, although she and him had clashed several times during the trial, so he considered this was a good chance to finally talk with her. That was why he was once again standing in front of her door, and knocked.

This time Mimori didn't take long to open the door, and when she did she opened it in full, her eyes widening a bit when she saw Mitsuhiko. "Hikari-kun! You again?"

"Is it a bad time?"

"No, come in" Mimori left the door wide open and stepped aside, letting Mitsuhiko enter. When the hunter entered, he noticed there had been once another change: this time there was a rather large piece of paper pinned to the back wall, with what seemed to be like a large map of Europe drawn all over it. Circles and arrows were gathered in the area where France would be located, and notes were scribbled all over the edges. Mitsuhiko had been about to approach when she stopped him "Please don't read it. That's private. So, what did you come here for?"

"I wanted to ask if you have found anything"

"Again? Hikari-kun, is that just an excuse?" Mimori raised her eyebrows, eyeing the hunter with something that resembled amusement. Mitsuhiko chuckled.

"I did come to see if you had achieved anything, but I'm still curious about you" he said "You're the type of person that would get to the bottom of everything, so I thought I should rely on you"

"Everything I found out doesn't matter now...because it's public knowledge now" she frowned "The Main Board are the villains, Veritas has been kidnapped, there's a basement...I don't have anything else to say"

Well that was a major disappointment. Mitsuhiko could practically feel his expression melting down, which made Mimori snort in amusement. "Relying on me, Hikari-kun? That's not like you! I thought you'd have your own conclusions by now"

"I just wanted to—"

"No, I get it. You wanted a second opinion, or more information before you form your own ideas" Mimori smiled "I'm flattered you thought about me. I won't lie, if I were in your same position, I'd go to you"

"So can we talk?"

The journalist sighed. "I wish we could, Hikari-kun, but I have my own problems to worry about"

"What?!" Mitsuhiko scowled "What can be more important than getting out of this place alive?! What about the Main Board?!"

"I never said it wasn't related to that. I just have other things in mind, so I'll leave the escaping and Main Board stuff to you"

"You can't just leave that up to me! We're going to have to all work together"

Mimori sighed. "I can't, Hikari-kun. I'm not saying I don't want to; I'm saying I _can_ _'_ _t_. I have my own problems to deal with" she pointed at the map of Europe "See that? It has taken me days to do all that, and it's all thoughts and memories I have remembered during our stay here"

"Do you mean you had forgotten them?"

"No. I think the right word would be...that I misinterpreted them" Mimori attempted to clarify, 'attempted' being the key word. Mitsuhiko didn't understand anything "I misinterpreted my findings and everything, and I have realized recently just how badly I screwed up.

I have been a colossal moron, Hikari-kun. What I need to do is...is to solve what I caused"

"Say it straight already! What's going on?!"

Mimori placed her hand on Mitsuhiko's shoulder. "You're a smart man, Hikari-kun. I don't know if there's proof somewhere in this building, but if there is, then you'll connect the dots and find out.

All I ask is that...if you do find out...please blame me. I take full responsibility, and I would atone if I could"

"...I don't understand a single thing of what you're saying" Mitsuhiko muttered, but didn't make her take her hand away. Mimori chuckled without mirth, going away and stepping all over the notebook pages spread through the floor.

"Yeah...I supposed you wouldn't. Sorry. I'm not ready to confess. I'm not brave enough"

Mitsuhiko looked at her as if he expected her to finally tell what she meant, what was going on, but she didn't say anything else, content with smiling enigmatically. A bit flabbergasted, Mitsuhiko left the room. It was a shame Mimori hadn't been of help like he had thought she'd be, but now he could see there was something going on with her, and it was something he shouldn't ignore. He promised himself he'd look for Mimori, try to help her if it was possible, and although he didn't understand a thing of what was tormenting her, he was going to try to be her crutch.

That's what comrades should do, after all. It was the right thing to do.

* * *

**Yurie Oyama, Hacking Demon**

**Number of remaining Free Time events: Three**

Once it was midnight, Mitsuhiko left his room and sneaked towards Yurie's. Just like she said she would, she was there, waiting for him to arrive. When she saw Mitsuhiko, she smiled deviously and opened her door further, letting him in. "About time you got here, Mitsu-chan. I was starting to wonder if I should go to your room"

"I wasn't going to run away from this" Mitsuhiko said, feigning a smile. This was going to be hard to talk about.

Yurie didn't notice Mitsuhiko wasn't very enthusiastic, though. Instead, she led Mitsuhiko inside and showed him something that was on her floor: it was a map of all the available places, carefully drawn and with every object pointed. "So, I have been thinking, and our best bet would be to attract someone to this place" she placed her finger on the Administrative Offices. "Once someone gets there, we will—"

"I think we should change our plan, Yurie" Mitsuhiko said before she could get too far into her plans. The hacker raised her head, a bit surprised, but then smiled.

"Oh, you think Kobayashi-kun should be attracted somewhere else?"

"No, that's not what I mean! I mean we shouldn't kill anyone"

Yurie stared for him for a moment before sitting, looking at him with seriousness. "Sorry, I think I didn't hear correctly. Did you say...?"

"We shouldn't kill. Yurie, this is too dangerous. We shouldn't do that"

She narrowed her eyes. "Oh, really? Tell me more. How are we going to win the spot in the Main Board? Murdering someone and getting away with it is the only way"

"Even if it means sacrificing everyone else's lives?"

"Even if it means that! That's how the contest goes, we can't do anything about that" Yurie took a deep breath "Mitsu-chan, nothing has changed. Come on, we need to do it"

"What makes you so sure the Main Board will allow both of us to win the game? For all we know only one will be chosen"

"Look, I get what's going on: the masterminds kidnapped the Main Board and have them hostage. Once we rescue them, they'll give us what we want"

"Yurie, it can't be that simple. Besides, the Main Board has five spots, including Veritas. There can't be two from Asia, I bet"

Yurie threw her hands to the air in exasperation. "If Veritas wills it then it will happen! You're getting caught in the details, Mitsu-chan. Focus on victory, then we'll see what happens"

This wasn't going well, maybe he wasn't being assertive enough? He knew convincing her wasn't going to be easy, he should have planned this better. A different approach could be useful? "And what if we fail? Have you considered we may get caught?"

"We're both smart and resourceful, we won't get caught"

"Consider it, Yurie! We don't know what mistakes we could make. I don't—I don't feel ready for this" Mitsuhiko lowered his voice "Please, don't make me do this"

Yurie stared at the floor, biting her lip, while Mitsuhiko waited nervously. He trusted Yurie and knew she'd only want the best for them, but sometimes she was so stubborn he didn't know how to deal with her. He wasn't sure how to respond if she continued on the original plan, but he was going to fight it either way.

"...fine"

"If we lose, that means we'll—" that single word finally registered in his brain "Wait, did you agree?"

"Yeah. I accept it, you don't want to kill"

Mitsuhiko felt cold creeping in his ribcage. "Does that mean you'll try to kill someone yourself...?"

"No! If I do that then you would die. I won't kill someone unless you're dead" Yurie said, surprisingly firm about that. Once Mitsuhiko caught on she completely meant that, her voice mellowed down a bit "If you don't want to kill someone and get to the Main Board with me, then fine, we won't. I don't understand your reasons, and I don't like them, but...

...but we're in this together. If you won't kill, then I won't either"

Mitsuhiko got closer to her, embracing her. At first she kept looking at the floor before finally grasping Mitsuhiko's wrists softly. "Let's do this your way, but I want you to promise me something, Mitsu-chan..."

"What is it?"

"Promise me you won't change your mind without telling me. I trust you wouldn't, but...I'd feel a bit more comfortable with your way if you promised me that. Please"

Without hesitating for a moment, Mitsuhiko nodded. "I promise"

_I stayed in her room until morning._

-ooooo-

"Mitsu-chan, can you believe everyone is so unbelievably stupid?"

Yurie had approached, leaning on him with a sardonic smile. Mitsuhiko didn't share it, though. "It's not a matter of being stupid, Yurie"

"It's just how everyone but me has to rely on you to solve the cases. I'd have thought other people would be able to pull their own weight"

Mitsuhiko diplomatically chose not to state that Yurie wasn't exactly being the best detective in the building. "They have done their part too. Give them some credit, Yurie"

"Fine, I just wanted to give you a compliment" Yurie let him go and sat nearby "Kayano-san and Hosoya-kun tried to get the prize...who do you think will be next?"

"I'm not going to theorize who's going to kill next! Stop that already" Mitsuhiko felt a vein starting to swell in his forehead "Don't you have anything better to do?"

"There's nothing to do" Yurie said, but after a moment she shook her head "Okay, I admit I'm a bit worried about the Main Board being held hostage, but it's what I told you was going on. Since we're not going to kill someone, we'll rescue them and claim a reward. The problem is how we're going to do it"

"Any ideas?"

"Damn right I have ideas. Do you think we could open the way to the Fourth Floor without anyone having to die?"

The thought Yurie was actually going to do something without one of the commanders having to die...was Yurie finally letting go the whole 'letting everyone else die' thing? "It's worth a try, but if it doesn't work we'll need a plan B"

"I also have a plan B" Yurie pointed upwards "The Astronomy Laboratory should allow us to get to the Fourth Floor. We should gather the cables and create a rope with it"

"And if Monobear catches us?"

"Then he has to deal with it. We're not forbidden to investigate, there's nothing he can do to us"

Mitsuhiko nodded, and although some people wouldn't dare to say it, he went ahead and did it: "I'm surprised you won't wait for someone to die" Yurie didn't scowl or get angry at that, like Mitsuhiko kinda expected, instead she sighed.

"You can't ask me to be their friend, but after these few days...I think playing along the contest is the worst thing we could do" she said "I don't want to solve all this because I like them. I'll do it because of loyalty to Veritas"

"...that's a start, I guess" Mitsuhiko smirked "Who would have thought your stone heart would swell three times in a week?"

"I'm sure that'd mean the death of me" Yurie purred "My heart is only for you, Mitsu-chan...when we get out of here we'll marry as soon as possible"

"H-Hey, it's a bit hasty to think about marriage—"

"I was just kidding. You're adorable when you don't know how to react" she lightly punched Mitsuhiko's arm before standing up "I'll get started with the computers in the Administrative Offices. Enough procrastination, let's solve everything this place has to offer" and she left.

There was something annoying about Yurie. The way she acted...Mitsuhiko wasn't sure what to think, but if he had to guess...Yurie was disguising how afraid she felt, and how much she feared the situation with the Main Board could get worse. Despite all the flaws, and how visceral and aggressive Yurie tried to be, her best trait was her sense of loyalty, and Veritas and the Main Board were people who deserved it. _When the time comes she_ _'_ _ll reject the Main Board_ _'_ _s evil, I_ _'_ _m sure of that. For now, I_ _'_ _ll support her as much as I can._

-ooooo-

Mitsuhiko had never noticed how much a library was needed. For a school, the lack of a library was a rather big flaw! A library for talented people could have a book that could tell how to get better from the paralysis caused by the hemlock, she supposed, but there was nothing like that here. A bit disheartened, the hunter went to Yurie's bedroom.

Koshimizu had given her a wheelchair, but she hadn't tried to use it ever then. She had spent all the time in her bedroom, staring at the wall with a blank stare. When Mitsuhiko opened the door she didn't even turn to look at him, although judging by the way her fingers curled on the armrests, she felt his presence. "Yurie...how are you feeling?" She didn't reply. Apprehensive, Mitsuhiko slowly approached and crouched to her side "Do you need anything?"

"...no" her voice was barely audible "I'm fine"

"You don't look fine"

"...okay...I'm not fine" she raised her voice a bit "My legs are paralyzed, and I can't do anything to help you anymore. Is that what you wanted me to admit? That I'm useless now?"

"You're not useless, Yurie"

Suddenly, Yurie banged her fist on the arm rest. "I can't even go to the upper floors without help! I'm fucking useless now, and don't you dare to try to cheer me up with your empty words" she chided "I'm paralyzed, and I doubt I'll ever walk again! All I can do is try to use this stupid chair to move around, but what for? What's there to be done on this floor?

I have been crippled, and I can't do anything anymore, but at this point I can't afford to do nothing! There's something weird going on, Veritas is missing, and the Main Board may be the villains here..." Yurie gasped for breath for a moment before continuing her tirade "I don't want to be left behind doing nothing! I must—I need to help, because if I don't, we could all die!

I don't want you to die, Mitsu-chan! I don't want me to die, I don't want Veritas to die! I just..." she curled her fists "...I don't want this anymore. I don't care about the contest; I want to live! I just want to be out of here, and continue with my life! I-I'm...I am..."

Mitsuhiko got closer, putting a comforting arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer to him. She didn't fight it, instead her shoulders shook slightly, she really was trying to keep any tears at bay "We'll be okay, Yurie"

"I'm scared, Mitsu-chan...I don't want to die..."

"You won't die. I promise you won't die" Mitsuhiko murmured, and after a pause: "I'm sorry I couldn't stop you from drinking the poisoned tea"

Yurie shook her head. "It wasn't your fault. I should have been more careful instead of guzzling down that rank tea like a moron"

"We still have our lives ahead of us. All we have to do is survive. We have survived this far, what's a few days more?"

The hacker stopped shaking, and unbeknown to Mitsuhiko, she smiled serenely. "Yeah...I trust you, Mitsuhiko. I trust you with my life and my soul.

Please...stay by my side a little longer"

Mitsuhiko knew admitting she was scared had taken a lot of inner strength to Yurie. She was never known for being a strong woman, he knew she rushed and behaved so aggressively because she didn't think she was strong enough, but she also hated to rely on other people.

To hear so openly she was relying on him...it was something unexpected, not even since they were a couple she had said such a thing. "I'll stay"

"...once we're out of here I do want to marry you, you know"

"We will. I promise"

_I spent the rest of the day in Yurie_ _'_ _s room_

* * *

**Tohya Sasuga, Roboticist Demon**

**Number of remaining Free Time events: Two**

Cleaning the Biology Laboratory was a bigger hassle than Mitsuhiko expected, but it was better than having a disease breeding spot in the building. That's why after entering the place, holding his breath and praying he wasn't going to get sick, and obtained a surgeon mask from one of the cabinets, he decided to start cleaning.

He had barely started when Sasuga appeared in the entrance, covering his mouth with his hand. "Hikari-kun, got a moment?"

"I'm a bit busy right now! Mitsuhiko said, pondering how he'd get rid of the grimy water in the aquarium.

"Did you like my novel?"

"Seriously, this isn't the best time to talk about that" Mitsuhiko said. Since Sasuga didn't move nor seemed to have intentions to leave, the hunter decided to get done with it as soon as possible "It was awful. Sasuga-kun, is it the first novel you write?"

"Uuuh..."

"I had never seen so many contrivances in one single book. The main protagonist was selfish and didn't care who died as long as he got what he wanted, and the cases were mostly illogical" Mitsuhiko started tipping the aquarium to empty it into a bucket "For example, why to get rid of the watermelon by throwing it to the trash? It would have been easier to hide it"

"You don't get it, the watermelon was meant to be the way the antagonist—"

"It doesn't matter if 'I don't get it'. Sasuga-kun, writers can't rely on readers interpreting the story. You have to make them see what you want them to see, and frankly, you have absolutely no skill about doing that" since Sasuga wasn't replying to that, after a minute or so Mitsuhiko sighed "I'm sorry I was so direct"

"...so you think I won't be able to be a writer?"

"No. You're not a good writer"

Sasuga sighed, leaning against the doorframe. "Well that's one thing more for the bucket list. I'm satisfied enough someone read what I wrote, so...thank you for that"

"Your bucket list? What do you mean?"

"Oh, you didn't know? I'm a dead man walking" Sasuga smiled bitterly "I'm supposed to be dead in a few months"

Mitsuhiko's hands slipped from the aquarium, accidentally letting it crash against the floor and spilling the dirty water all over the floor. The hunter didn't care about that, though, he turned around with his eyes wide open. "What? What do you mean?"

"I'm sick. Look, I don't want to go into much details. It makes me uncomfortable" Sasuga lowered his voice "But apparently my heart is enlarging progressively, it's some kind of cardiomyopathy. Soon it'll be too big to move properly, and I will..." he couldn't even finish the sentence.

"Isn't there a treatment? Maybe Koshimizu could help you!"

"I already talked to him long ago, but there's no treatment. All I can do is live life to the fullest until then" Sasuga put his hand in his pocket and took out a pocketbook, showing it with pride "Which is why I created a bucket list! Five hundred things to do before dying"

At least Sasuga seemed to be taking relatively well the grim perspective of dying in matter of months. Mitsuhiko eyed the pocketbook with curiosity. "How many goals have you completed until now?"

"Two hundred seventy-nine, to be exact" Sasuga opened the pocketbook and ticked off one of the goals "'Ask someone read a novel I wrote', done. It could have gone better but I did it and that's what matters"

"How can you take it so well?" the hunter inquired "I don't have a disease but we could all die at any moment in this place, and I don't feel any calmer. But look at yourself! You're going ahead as if it's no big deal.

How do you do it?"

Sasuga put away the pocketbook, looking away. "...do I really give that impression?"

"Yeah! Is it wrong?"

"I'm not saying I'm scared or anything, but I'm not as calm as you think I am. Do you know how it feels to know you have a ticking bomb in your chest?" Sasuga grimaced "It sucks. It fucking sucks, and I don't even know if it's going to stop before I expect it. People say everyone should live like it was their last day on Earth, but it's not that easy...

...sometimes I wonder if it'd be better to get done with this all instead of waiting for my heart to kill me. I think that's why I made this goal list in the first place" Sasuga patted his pocket "So I remember myself there's a lot to be done in the world, and that I can't lie down and die yet"

Mitsuhiko couldn't say he understood how that felt, but something in Sasuga's voice made him sympathize. It sounded like longing, like Sasuga wanted to live longer than the months he had left...and lately that was something Mitsuhiko had been feeling too. For a moment the hunter felt almost similar to kinship with Sasuga, but that feeling was soon gone. It wasn't like he and Sasuga were more than acquaintances yet. "Sasuga-kun? If there's anything else, I can help you with then tell me. I promise I will help you"

"Really? Do you really mean that?"

"I do" Mitsuhiko extended his hand, which Sasuga took with enthusiasm, almost blushing with joy.

"I can't believe it—thanks, Hikari-kun. How about I return the favor? Here, I'll help you clean this mess" without waiting for Mitsuhiko's response, Sasuga quickly went away "I'll bring a mop! You check if the aquarium broke, alright?"

Well Mitsuhiko wasn't going to object to some help in cleaning the laboratory! While Mitsuhiko tried to lift the aquarium from the floor, he thought about Sasuga and the wait for death. He felt bad for him, and although the offer to help Sasuga was a spur-of-the-moment thing, he did want to help Sasuga. _He deserves some happiness. Does Kimiko know about his disease?_

_Sasuga and I spent the afternoon cleaning the Biology Laboratory._

-ooooo-

Mitsuhiko had been about to get into his sleeping bag when someone knocked at the door of his room. When he opened it, he found Sasuga standing there, looking around with nervousness. "Sasuga-kun? Is there something wrong?"

"No, nothing is wrong. I just wanted to ask you a favor"

"What is it?"

"Can you teach me to shoot a gun?" Sasuga asked, the words practically sticking together from how fast he said it. It took Mitsuhiko a moment to be sure he had heard correctly, but it didn't take long for him to understand why Sasuga would ask that.

"It's for your bucket list, isn't it?"

"Yeah...is it okay? I know you have two guns, so I thought we could...forget it, we can do it in the morning" Sasuga tilted his head "Everyone is going to wake up if we start shooting around"

"No, it's okay. Come on, let's go to the Courtyard" Mitsuhiko made sure he was carrying his Beretta – Koshimizu still had the gun the hunter used to shoot – and a few bullets, taking Sasuga to the back of the headquarters building. Once they were near the Greenhouse, Mitsuhiko took out the gun, showing it with professionalism.

"Alright, listen here, Sasuga-kun: shooting guns is not difficult, but you need a lot of practice to do it effectively" he said "You need to know how to aim, how to position yourself, how to deal with the recoil..."

"I don't expect to be an expert tonight, Hikari-kun. Just the basics would be okay"

"Okay, let's try this" Mitsuhiko made sure the safety was on and passed the Beretta to Sasuga, taking his hands and showing him exactly how to grasp it "Grasp here very tightly. You can't afford to let the gun slip from your hands"

"Like this?"

"No, tighter" Mitsuhiko yanked from the gun, it didn't budge "Well done. Now, you see this here? That's the safety. Try taking it off without letting go..."

The explanation continued. Mitsuhiko thought of simple movements and exercises for Sasuga to do, and the roboticist caught on rather quickly on how to grab the gun effectively. After these basics were covered, Mitsuhiko moved Sasuga to the edge of the Back Courtyard, making him face the trees. "Now we're going to shoot. Right now we have six bullets..."

Sasuga continued following Mitsuhiko's instructions, but when the roboticist shot, he dropped the gun, startled by the volume of the bang. "Woah! T-That was..." Sasuga rubbed his ears, surprised.

"It takes time to get used to the noise"

"I-I changed my mind, I think I'd like to keep my hearing sense intact" Sasuga smiled weakly "Thanks for everything, Hikari-kun"

Mitsuhiko picked up the gun. "Are you satisfied?"

"Yeah, I'm glad I asked you" Sasuga took out his pocketbook "That's one thing more for the list!"

"Can I take a look?"

Sasuga passed the pocketbook, letting Mitsuhiko see the latest page. Indeed, the very first line was about shooting a gun, and it was ticked off. There were a few lines more, most of them unchecked. "'Create a new soup', 'Cook some traditional couscous', 'learn to play the fifth symphony of Beethoven in cello'..." Mitsuhiko smirked "It can't be said you're a one-note guy, I guess"

"Most of the goals will have to be done once we're all out of here"

Mitsuhiko continued reading. Most of the goals were rather simple, but Mitsuhiko's attention was piqued by three specific ones. First: '_ Marry Kimmy' _Kimiko, right? Haha...way to go, Kimiko_! The other two goals were right at the end of the page, they seemed to be recently written:

"_ Unveil the corruption in Diavolos Avante"

"_ Survive"

"When did you write these two, Sasuga-kun?"

"Not too long ago" he looked away "Right around the beginning of this stupid contest. Anyone would want those same goals"

"Right" Curious, Mitsuhiko turned forward a few pages, until he found something that wasn't part of a list. Sasuga noticed the hunter had gone further than the list, though, and with a yelp he grabbed the notebook and pulled, taking it away.

"I didn't tell you to look more than that!"

"I'm sorry, I got curious..." But what Mitsuhiko saw...those resembled blueprints. Mitsuhiko didn't have time to see what exactly it was all about, but those were definitely blueprints. It seemed that Sasuga's pocketbook also was where he planned some of his projects, apparently.

Sasuga hid the pocketbook away. "I like to keep my best projects in a place other people won't see them. Not even Kimmy has read those"

"Why not?"

"It's just too personal. Don't you have something you'd like to keep to yourself?"

Mitsuhiko could understand that. While Sasuga and him returned to the inside of the building, they talked about how themselves, about their lives. _Sasuga-kun is not a bad guy...I like him. Why does he have to be so sick? What did he do to deserve it?_ Mitsuhiko thought while he was opening the door _If there_ _'_ _s nothing to be done about his disease then the least I should do is stay by his side until the end. We could be good friends..._


	50. Extras: Author's Thoughts

**General thoughts:**

Ah, the sequel is finished. It was fun for me to write! Hope it was worth reading. So, what do I have to say about it? I think it was a success, personally. I like this sequel more than Graduate Meeting, and I feel that, as a writer, I did improve by writing this and the first part. There's still a lot of room for improvement, though.

First, I personally feel there was some improvement over Graduate Meeting, but at the same time there were some flaws that weren't present in Graduate Meeting. So what, one step forward, one step back? That's not good at all.

I had the outline for this story such a long time ago. As a whole it was meant to be a bit more rigid on what could happen. Unlike Graduate Meeting, there were a few details I defined from the beginning, which I wasn't willing to change in any way. For example, Mitsuhiko was going to be the main character. It was a constant that Yasumoto was going to be the first victim. It was also defined from the beginning that Sasuga and Sugita would be culprits together. It was planned from the very first scenario that Veritas' corpse would create the fifth case, and finally, it was defined this sequel would end with everyone's deaths except Mitsuhiko's.

About the cases, hmm...you know, I think I improved on that. Less reliance on coincidences, more reliance on planning, which I think made sense. I mean, this was an organization full of people who were trying their best to do what they felt was needed to do, all by following Veritas and the Main Board's guidance, but at the same time each person was ruthless in their own way, prepared to care for themselves and maybe a couple people more. Everyone who killed was playing to win – except Mimori – so they couldn't leave anything to random chance.

In contrast, that'd mean everyone would also try to discern the culprits' plans, through use of their own experiences and deductions. This whole cast was full of people who were trying to have the upper hand over everyone else.

The antagonists – the Main Board – and Yasumoto's group caused all this, as you know. Everyone else was more or less collateral damage, byproduct of some poor planning. Not even Mimori, who discovered the Main Board's conspiracy thanks to Fukuyama's carelessness, was able to have the edge over the Main Board, and was set to be killed for that reason.

You know what the first scenario had? Here, take a look and compared to scenario #17, which was the chosen one:

* * *

**Scenario #1**

Main character: Mitsuhiko Hikari

Secondary main character: Kyrie Mimori

Survivors (to the final trial): Mitsuhiko Hikari, Emiko Tanaka/Shizuka Hasegawa-Nakai, Kouhei Kobayashi, Kumakichi Fukuyama, Kyrie Mimori

Case #1

Victim: Chiyo Yasumoto, Mamoru Takayama

Culprit: Akira Hosoya

Case #2:

Victim: Tetsurou Koshimizu

Culprit: Hiyoko Romi

Case #3:

Victim: Sumida Kishio

Culprit: Daisuke Mitsuishi

Case #4:

Victim: Yurie Oyama, Harumi Kayano

Culprit: Kimiko Sugita, Tohya Sasuga

Case #5:

Victim: Veritas

Culprit: Valkyrie, Kyrie Mimori as accomplice

* * *

**Scenario #17**

Main character: Mitsuhiko Hikari

Secondary main character: Koshimizu and Mimori may be the closest thing to this.

Survivors (to the final trial): Mitsuhiko Hikari, Emiko Tanaka/Shizuka Hasegawa-Nakai, Kouhei Kobayashi, Tetsurou Koshimizu, Hiyoko Romi

Case #1

Victim: Chiyo Yasumoto

Culprit: Harumi Kayano

Case #2:

Victim: Mamoru Takayama

Culprit: Akira Hosoya

Case #3:

Victim: Daisuke Mitsuishi

Culprit: Kumakichi Fukuyama

Case #4:

Victim: Yurie Oyama, Kishio Sumida

Culprit: Kimiko Sugita, Tohya Sasuga

Case #5:

Victim: Veritas

Culprit: Wolfenmaus, Kyrie Mimori as accomplice

* * *

There were much less scenarios this time, mainly because of the decisions I had taken. That didn't leave that much liberty, so there were only around twenty in total.

Now let's see each chapter...

* * *

**Prologue: Why is Starting So Difficult?**

I had enough. Gathering people around and going one by one, talking about them and all doesn't work very well. It's tedious to write and I'm sure it's tedious to read. You know what, I have a plan for the last part's prologue. If it works, then great! If it doesn't work, well, that was the last attempt so...yeah.

Yep, it was annoying to write the introductions, but the way itself I did it was okay. While the commanders didn't know each other beyond just hearing what they had done, Mitsuhiko was able to see each one and do short exposition about it. You know, the usual. There was nothing special. And then I introduced Lily and Emiko. I remember I was feeling rather nervous doing it! First impressions are rather important, so getting Lily into the story in this moment was going to set the foundation for many moments in the rest of the story.

Did I succeed on that? Uuuuuh...I don't think...I think it could have gone better. It's amazing how in hindsight one sees things one could have done better. Prologues continue being a big weakness of mine. Seriously, let's hope in the last part it is better than in this one and in Graduate.

**Chapter 1: Game is On!**

And so it started. In the first part I hoped I'd be able to make the sequel's Chapter 1 better than the one in Graduate Meeting, and personally, I think I was able to do that. It wasn't by much, but I think I did. But I wish I had done the chapter a bit more exciting. That's my goal for Chapter 1 in the last part of this trilogy, to make it more exciting.

So, about this one, Yasumoto died and Harumi was set to die. This chapter was intended to be mostly about Mitsuhiko and Yurie's decision to kill someone, and that in turn turning them into suspects. I meant this chapter to be for establishing Mitsuhiko's redemption start, turning from someone who was going to murder Kobayashi – even if it had been spurred by Yurie – to someone who would do a lot of effort to help in the trials and solve everything that was happening in the headquarters.

I'm not entirely satisfied about it, though. The case was kinda average and there were no big revelations in the chapter. It's more of an 'in-retrospect' thing, what with Yasumoto dying, but even then, Chapter 1 doesn't have anything juicy to really talk about.

**Chapter 2: In Hindsight That Could Have Gone Better**

Least liked chapter I have done in this sequel, I'd say.

In theory the possibility of making a chapter that is about the protagonist locked in a room as consequence of what he did is nice, but in practice it isn't as good as it sounds. I mean, how couldn't I have guessed that being locked in a room meant a lot of restriction in practically everything? I really should have seen it coming, but by the time I realized it was a bad idea I was way into it all...to the point where I had linked the cells and its inhabitants into the murder, so I decided to just keep going ahead.

I'm happy I got the chance of getting rid of Hosoya, though. Maybe a writer shouldn't despise their own characters – it was my creation, hating it is like despising a part of myself – but I did, so I took the chance to make him a culprit.

This chapter also allowed me start with the whole Chemistry Laboratory point, which...didn't get solved in this story. It will in the last part, but for now in this story anything involving the Chemistry Laboratory was a hint to keep in mind.

**Chapter 3: Locked Rooms Are Cool**

I personally think it's at this point the story started to picked up steam. Hasegawa snapped and tried to murder everyone, and since that didn't work, she tried to help Fukuyama in exchange of getting out, all because she had no faith in Yasumoto's plan anymore. It ends with Hasegawa causing crippling Yurie – which would lead to her death – and being unveiled as a very shady person who may work for the Future Foundation.

The case itself...there's something about closed rooms that make them interesting, even if they're easily broken after some thinking. I tried to not to make the solution that obvious, but the cables kinda gave it away, I think. Still, from the comments I received, the case wasn't straightforward enough – at first sight – to make it obvious, but it had enough logic for one to be able to understand it well once it was solved. I really like it, you know!

I think maybe the consequences of Hasegawa trying to poison everyone could be bigger? Because of the circumstances she was mostly unpunished for that, despite being disliked by all the commanders, so maybe that was a mistake.

**Chapter 4: Here Started the Final Day**

Yeah, the last two and a half chapters of this sequel took place in the same day, since the trial started to the end of Chapter 6.

Chapter 4's case is my favorite of all the ones I have made. Not only I managed to get lasers and fire involved in the same time, I also killed two people who were rather important for the protagonist. It was actually fun to do! And really, the part where I wrote how Kishio's corpse on fire was launched with a pendulum movement from the Lookout to the fence is something I liked, too.

The murder that happened in this chapter kickstarted endgame, too. If it hadn't been for the ashes caused by the fire the murder of Veritas wouldn't have been solved, or maybe it'd have taken a lot more of time. Not only that, Lily turned into Lilith and Sasuga's Last Bastion code was the first step that would lead to everyone except Mitsuhiko's deaths.

I have only one regret, and it is to have mixed up 'catalyst' with 'accelerant'. A shame, since the events of Chapter 4 were the catalyst for so many things, hahahahaha... hah...oh, forget it.

**Chapter 5: We Need a New Leader**

Ever since I introduced Veritas I knew he was going to die, but since he was an important character – despite the short amount of screentime he got in both stories – I knew he deserved to have a good enough farewell. He couldn't just be killed off-screen and let it be no more than an announcement for the commanders, so instead he was...killed off-screen, but he was the centerpiece of a case, and it's a case I'm rather fond of! Although I think Lilith dragging Mimori away may have been a bit of a cheap move, I don't really regret doing that.

Leaving that aside, this was the start of the moves that'd lead to the Main Board's narrow win. Their way to try to get Mimori out of the way and make Mitsuhiko a culprit didn't go as they expected it to go, but it contributed to everyone's demise at the end. It was a rather simple plan: kill Veritas, let Mimori get shot and possibly die, and with some luck no one would realize Mimori wasn't the culprit. Unfortunately, the ashes from the hallway destroyed any chance of that happening. Leaving Veritas' body in the Cafeteria was a mistake that almost proved to be their undoing, but their plan had gone well enough to mean that either both Mitsuhiko and Mimori would die, or Mitsuhiko would be the only one alive – and therefore having the Enoshima AI implanted.

I had a lot of fun planning this case, I think I did well with it, and although it did hurt me a bit to know Mimori was dying – she's one of my favorite characters in this sequel – it was something necessary, in my opinion.

**Chapter 6: Path to the Bad Ending**

Diabolical Contest was always fated to end with almost everyone's deaths and the masterminds getting away. That's them breaks. Of course, it didn't come easy. The Main Board made several plans at once, in an effort of being successful with at least one. Veritas' death, Mimori's death, solving the mysteries of the building, using the mutual killing game to their advantage...thanks to the efforts of the 'survivors' three of the plans were ruined, and the one that did triumph almost failed too.

Do you know what I think? I feel the last trial had a certain spark missing. It lacked _something_ , I'm not exactly sure what, but if I had to guess, it was because the masterminds were known since so early. There was no way the Main Board weren't them, and since the story showed at various points what they were doing, there was no pressure from that side. I think the enigmas were more about Lily's comrades and creator, and what they wanted to do.

Writing this chapter was...extraordinarily difficult. I rewrote the trial parts at least three times – with the exception of Trial Part II - and I feel I forgot something despite all my efforts. I think I bit more than I could chew, I placed way too many questions and enigmas to be solved in one single chapter, and that was a bad decision. It would have been better for part of this all to be solved during the fifth trial.

Live and learn, I guess. I have plans for the last trial of the third part of this trilogy, it should be better, I think!

**Epilogue: He** **'** **s Despairing**

Yeah, due to the events in the Headquarters/Delacroix's School, Mitsuhiko Hikari has fallen in despair. How will that affect the third part? That's something I can't wait to write. It's going to be fun to put in words, you'll see.

Also, with this epilogue, both sides are finally fused. Both Akane and Mitsuhiko will take part of the third part, and you'll see how.

* * *

**CHARACTERS**

**Mitsuhiko Hikari:**

There's something I'm completely sure was much better than from Graduate Meeting: the main character. I'm so, so satisfied with how Mitsuhiko went, compared to Akane, I think couldn't have gone better. Okay, that's lie, maybe making him be more and more condescending the more time passed was not a good idea? But that was kinda a way he developed, he turned cockier the more trials he went through, and I think it was this cockiness what led him to everyone's doom at the end.

It's interesting to have a protagonist with both positive and negative development, and it wasn't easy to write. Maybe it tilted too much towards a specific side?

Also hah! Mitsuhiko was the character most accused, having four different crimes pinned on him and being actually guilty of one of those. Also, that Mimori died because she was shot – the same murder method he and Yurie were going to do to Kobayashi – was a similarity I planned too.

**Emiko Tanaka/Shizuka Hasegawa-Nakai:**

Shizuka as a character was introduced in Graduate Meeting, the sister Ginchiyo had looked for and never found, and now look at that! Shizuka heard about Ginchiyo's death thanks to the survivors, who joined the Future Foundation. Filled with grief, she went to look for answers by herself and met Sasuga and Yasumoto.

How did she get to the point where she tried to kill everyone? It wasn't really something I planned at first, but one day I had that idea, so I moved a few things around and managed to weave together her murder attempt and Fukuyama's murder plan. Did it go well? Yeah! It did, I'd say! But as I said before it's possible I didn't play very well the distrust and consequences anyone would do against her...

Other than that, I never really had any other plan than making her survive to the end despite everything. While the novelty of having someone completely unrelated to everyone else wore off after a couple chapters, the part of her being from the Future Foundation became the important part of her character. Whether that was actually an enticing thing is up to the reader's opinion, but personally...personally I think she ended being a tad bland. It's unfortunate.

**Mamoru Takayama:**

Takayama was convinced by Yasumoto to join her group, even though he was never told what she intended to do. All he knew was that Yasumoto wanted order and prevent deaths, and if there was something Tayakama would be compelled to do it was preventing any deaths. Too bad it didn't happen like he would have wanted.

You know, in the first scenario, Takayama would have died in the line of duty, protecting Yasumoto with his life, but...I'm not sure why I changed the plan. Guess I thought that dying and then having Yasumoto die right after that was like an insult to his supposed talent, but I also wasn't willing to change the plan of making Yasumoto die first, so...Takayama was moved to be the second victim from then on.

As for a missed chance...well, the microphones had some potential, but after his death I figured no one would be able to use recordings adequately, so I...I just left those aside. I should have made some sort of in-universe justification.

**Akira Hosoya:**

Is it a requirement for there to be a major bastard in these stories? I should try to deviate from that next time.

I won't lie, I dislike this guy a lot. The immaturity and behaviors I gave him are behaviors I absolutely loathe, so writing it all was an exercise in perseverance. I can't count how many times I wished I hadn't outlined his character like this, but as a writer I think it's necessary to swallow these bitter pills and just keep going.

I think writing his Free Time events made him a bit more tolerable for me, although due to my own opinions and feelings during the writing of the main story, I didn't feel encouraged to giving him some of the spotlight.

At least the case he made was kinda fun to write.

**Kimiko Sugita:**

The possibility of having two people the main character would want to protect and keep alive was always interesting to me. It meant there'd be a chance for interactions and motivations that wouldn't spark from dealing with a completely unknown person.

Despite that, I think Mitsuhiko and Sugita didn't interact enough, I think. It's true they had several moments together, and Mitsuhiko's feelings towards Sugita had a part in the fourth trial, but I think they could have interacted more. At least I had the Intermissions to give them some time together, and for that reason both characters acquired some more personality, which is always good.

I had always planned her and Sasuga to be the culprits of the fourth case. She'd mislead readers. Wouldn't one in these stories expect the person who looks like the obvious culprit to not to be the culprit? Well, she indeed did kill Kishio, but she also tried to take blame for Yurie's death. Personally that's one of the reasons why hers is my favorite case so far.

**Harumi Kayano:**

When writing it's to be expected some of the characters to be left aside, at least in comparison to the first draft, right? Kayano was the big victim in that regard. She was originally going to die in the fourth case, meaning she would have received more time to be alive and take part in the trials. That was something I indeed planned! But I had to move a few things around, which led to her dying first. It's unfortunate, she was going to have some more importance than she did.

There was something that did stay in the final story, though, and that was that she got drafted into Yasumoto's team like Takayama had. That was a sign of the role she'd have in the story, but in the end I had to use that as a base to start creating a case where she was the culprit.

I think the Free Time events I wrote shows how she'd have behave if she hadn't been the first killer. Also, in an alternate universe, it's likely Kayano won the contest and got everyone killed. That'd be the universes where Mitsuhiko and Yurie do shoot Kobayashi to death, as those two would get blamed for Yasumoto's death too. As you may suppose, that meant Kayano would get the Enoshima AI implanted into her, and used as some sort of puppet by the rest of the Main Board. Bad end! Worse end than the one that actually happened.

**Tetsurou Koshimizu:**

Koshimizu was always meant to be someone to butt heads with Mitsuhiko rather often. Being by far the oldest commander, he thinks he knows better than everyone else. He's not stupid, in fact he can make a rather decent amount of deductions and can help in the trials a lot, but although he respects Mitsuhiko and knows the hunter's conclusions are often correct, he still feels bested by someone much younger than him.

That's the base I had for his character in terms of involvement with the plot. I think I did well enough in that regard! He was just so contrary to Mitsuhiko at times it was fun to write, but despite that, he begrudgingly cooperated and even helped Yurie once she was crippled. As a character I like Koshimizu, that's for sure.

You know, I was so, so tempted to make Mitsuhiko _and_ Koshimizu survive, but in the end I decided to go with the original plan.

**Chiyo Yasumoto**

Do you know what's the problem when someone who died rather early is the answer to one of the enigmas? That you don't feel too impressed by that, mostly because since they died early then one doesn't feel very attached to them. That was a risk I had to take. Yasumoto was always meant to being the first victim, and I wasn't willing to change that because her death would define how the rest of Yasumoto's group would behave.

So yes, I think that she ended being more a plot device than a character. It's unfortunate.

**Sumida Kishio**

Hah! The leader who didn't do a thing as a leader, and when she actually decided to get off her ass and do something she got killed for seeing something she shouldn't have seen. That was bad luck.

I can't say I have much to say about Kishio. Unfortunately, there being so many characters and so little space to develop them means a few will be more one-dimensional than others, and unfortunately Kishio is one of them.

**Kouhei Kobayashi**

Kobayashi was a novice commander, intimidated by his more experienced peers. One would think that getting shot because he was going to be the target of a murder would make him back off even more, right? But it didn't. With his cooperation the first case was solved and Kayano was executed.

From there he was in a constant fight to assert himself among his peers, and it didn't go that well. The moments he tried to be assertive were unfortunately on things he was wrong about, but although he was a bit disheartened, he was on the path towards being a good commander...too bad such path was a dead end.

Kobayashi was one of the kinder people in the Headquarters, but, just like everyone else, he had his own ways to be ruthless. No one takes the commander spot in Diavolos Avante without doing a few immoral things, you know. Kobayashi was an illusionist who was forced to be a bounty hunter so he could have enough money to live, you can imagine what sort of things he had to do during that time.

I think I could have done some more with the character, though. Live and learn, I guess.

**Daisuke Mitsuishi**

Mitsuishi is one of those characters that need space to grow. He's envious, jealous of other people, and is the kind of person that refuses to easily admit he's wrong. All that is rooted in the need to be an attention whore, and that's something that can make a rather interesting character. Did I do it right? Well...I think I did! But as said before, these stories have a rather limited time to develop everything.

I considered several times to have Mitsuishi living up to the last trial, but in the end, when I was deciding who would live to that point and who wouldn't, I let myself be enticed by Romi, so instead Mitsuishi was the third victim, and his development got cut short. You can see it, he had just faced the annoyed feelings everyone had after he started to milk his contribution in the second trial for all it was worth, and had gotten shouted at. You can guess how it would have gone from there if he had survived, don't you?

But alas. Just like Kayano, he was left aside. I'm sorry, Mitsuishi.

**Kumakichi Fukuyama**

And finally, the last character in the group of 'I'm sorry you got shafted in the final version, buddy' people: Bear Boy Fukuyama! Oh man. You know what was going to happen in the very first draft? He was going to survive to the end, yeah, and he was revealed as the Main Board's First Accomplice in the third trial, because instead of being the culprit, he managed to get Mitsuishi to kill in his place. From there he had to atone and help as much as possible, and being the only one who knew Mimori was the other accomplice, he became good friends with her.

And unfortunately, all that was scrapped and replaced with Koshimizu living to the end, but unlike Romi-Mitsuishi, I'm happy that Koshimizu lived.

That's the thing with these stories, so many characters have potential and not all of them can fulfill it. That's also the problem with making various scenarios, what happens in one don't happen in others. Kumakichi, I'm sorry for this.

**Hiyoko Romi**

Ah, Romi. Poor blind woman, stuck in an organization she wants to leave. You know, I was rather excited to have a character like her. How does someone blind deal with cases, and more if at one point she was considered a viable suspect for a murder? She's not _completely_ blind, but her eyes are damaged enough for her eyesight to be extremely blurry. As a concept, it's a character with a lot of potential!

Buuuuut...I don't know, I think the novelty, the reasons why I decided to create a character like her...it was all gone by the time the fourth chapter started, and by the time that happened, it was a too late to replace her. I could have killed her, but then that'd mean there'd be only four characters in the last trial against the Main Board, which would have brought a lot of trouble. It was too late to replace her with Kumakichi or Mitsuishi, too. I had no more option than keep going with her and do my best.

It's a shame, though. I think I didn't do justice to the concept Romi is.

**Kyrie Mimori**

Hahaha, hey, it's Mimori! My favorite character in this story. I had so many plans for her and almost all of them were achieved! There was one that didn't happen, and it was the part where Mimori was under suspicion of being Valkyrie beyond just mentions. The thing is, by getting her involved in the fifth case, that meant such suspicion wouldn't happen. No one would think Valkyrie was dead, and Valkyrie is not the type to be away from something like a trial if she can get involved with it.

But everything else I wanted with Mimori actually happened! She was an accomplice for the Main Board, she took a big part in the trials, she did everything she did in the fifth case, and she died, inadvertently dooming everyone – although Mitsuhiko had a part on that too. Heck, even her involvement with Vittoria was vital to the story. It could be said this whole story – and the bunker killing game, as that was one of the consequences of their actions – happened because of Vittoria and Mimori. In the first drafts Mimori's flawed investigation of Vittoria's supposed death was the clue that'd lead to the characters thinking Mimori was Valkyrie!

So, all in all, besides Mitsuhiko, it could be said Kyrie Mimori is the most important character in Diabolical Meeting, and I like her a lot.

**Yurie Oyama**

Mitsuhiko and Yurie's relationship is not a nice relationship. It's toxic, destructive for both, and although they do love each other and support each other, Yurie is a bad influence on Mitsuhiko. Her influence made him leave Hope's Peak and go get involved with Diavolos Avante, she helped him change his name and abandon his surrogate family, and during the contest, she was pushing him to kill Kobayashi, which, in alternate universes, doomed Diavolos Avante and perpetuated the Tragedy. Way to go.

But still, her one redeeming quality is that she's willing to stand with Mitsuhiko despite anything that could happen. That's something Mitsuhiko relies on, and something that keeps him going despite everything that happened, and Yurie knows it and wants to be his crutch. It was a problem when she was crippled due to the hemlock poisoning, and her death wasn't pretty at all...

It was nice to write something like the protagonist having a love relationship when arriving, and that defining a lot of things regarding his behavior in the first half of the story and in the intermissions. An interesting experiment, if you may call it that, and as a whole, I'd say it was a good idea! A protagonist with such relationships with other characters since the start of the story is good! And for that, thanks, Yurie. Her existence helped a lot.

It came a bit at the cost of the possibility she...she may be...a bit of a satellite character? Like, her existence and reason to be in the story relies on Mitsuhiko? That's not good, and something I need to improve in the future, in the last part of the trilogy.

**Tohya Sasuga**

Sasuga's Free Time events were my favorite to write. There's something rather fun to write when it's about a person who knows they're going to die and want to do as much as they can before it happens. It's unfortunate that it wouldn't ever happen, he was always going to die in the fourth case, as the culprit. He always activated Lily's Last Bastion code, too. His death was a requirement for that to happen.

The relationship between Sasuga and Sugita was much more peaceful than Yurie and Mitsuhiko's. It never got to the point where it could be considered a foil for the main character's relationship, but the part about it being a relationship where Mitsuhiko's childhood friend was in was completely intentional.

Unlike Yasumoto Sasuga actually stayed long enough to be noticed by the readers, I'd say. Was he a good character? Uh...that's something the readers can answer better than me, but I'm satisfied enough with how I wrote him. Maybe he could have a slightly more active role? But he's likable enough, I'd say.

**Main Board** **–** **Masterminds of the Contest: Valkyrie, Vieiras and Wolfenmaus**

Well, technically, they could be considered the masterminds of the bunker killing game too, the people who took advantage of Matsukaze's jealousy and disdain and pushed him to do it.

Do you know what's the unfortunate thing when it's about masterminds? That, unless they're among the group they're tormenting, it's difficult to really care about them. Matsukaze was one thing, these three are a completely different matter. While Diavolos Avante got attention and was the focus of this story, the masterminds themselves were once again more of a sidenote, despite taking active part of the final trial, and their plans shaping up everything that happened.

That's something that'll be changed in the last part, though. It's the last part of the trilogy, the last chance, and I have many plans for these three already. More details about that in the summary for the last part, just a bit further down! And by a bit further down, I mean just one line further down.

* * *

**The End of the Mutual Killing - Summary**

_Last part of the World After the End trilogy._

_Hope_ _'_ _s Peak has been closed for quite a while already, everybody knows it. That_ _'_ _s why Azalea Stravopoulos doesn_ _'_ _t understand why she has been kidnapped and given a SHSL title. Since when is she the Super High School Level Motivator? She is way too old for high school, too!_

_In a clearly virtual world, she and other fifteen **Hostages** have been pitted against each other, once again with one condition:_

_Kill and get away with it to escape._

**The End of the Mutual Killing** **–** **Characters**

So, as established before, Delacroix's School for the Gifted and Talented originated in France. The branch in Japan had been opened not many years before the Tragedy. The Main Board is also composed by representatives from each continent. Volkos/Kaiji Kudo was the one who mainly dealt with Japan and some areas in Asia, so, to find the other three runaway members, wouldn't it make sense to look in other parts of the world?

That's the sense of the sixteen Hostages. They're all people from different continents, and yes, Valkyrie, Wolfenmaus are among these sixteen. Who would be the mastermind, though? Is it among the sixteen Hostages or is it someone else? Could it be possible things aren't as straightforward as it seems at first glance? How does a mutual killing game help to find the three Main Board members?

That's all the main points to solve during the last part of the trilogy.

Here are all the characters, with the titles given to them by the Mastermind and divided in groups, according to the continents they come from. As you may guess, three of the groups have one of the Main Board members among them, with one having only innocent people. And yep, all of them are beyond the age of someone who would be in high school. The youngest one is 22 years old, after all.

* * *

Azalea Stravopoulos – SHSL Motivator

Chrysanthe Stravopoulos – SHSL Gardener

Lucien Balboa – SHSL Marine Biologist

Vittoria Delacroix – SHSL Criminal Heiress

* * *

Kikozou Kamiya - SHSL Pharmacist

Aleksey Seryogin - SHSL Thief

Matthew McCoy - SHSL Engineer

Elaine McCoy – SHSL Drama Novelist

* * *

Alistair Sullivan – SHSL Child Entertainer

Joanna Da Silva – SHSL Violonist

Patricio Beltrán – SHSL Baker

Dalia Roble – SHSL Ecologist

* * *

Thioro Meziane – SHSL Detective

Khotso Thobi – SHSL Astronomer

Kouma Nana – SHSL Marathoner

Runihura Acurio – SHSL Videographer

* * *

Yep, there's a new SHSL Detective and a SHSL Pharmacist in this place. It's worth remembering that most of these characters never were Hope's Peak Academy. I won't go into further details right now, of course. That's for when the story is happening.

So, all in all, that's what the story is going to be! The last part of the trilogy and the conclusion of the plotlines established in this alternate story. When will the part start being posted online? Hmmmm...there's some planning more I need to do, but I think it may be posted in a month or a month and half, not with a long wait like it happened last time.

So, thank you for reading! I hope Diabolical Contest was a worthwhile read, and that End is a satisfying conclusion to this trilogy.


End file.
